The Coaches on the Hottest Seats in College Basketball with March Approaching

In this segment of the college basketball calendar, underperforming coaches are the frogs in the stewpot. The heat is slowly rising, the water just beginning to simmer. 

Only in this case, everyone is writing and posting about the simmer and then showing those perspectives to the frog. Also, the frogs are able to read in this metaphor. 

Yet in some cases, they seem relatively sanguine. This is the business they've chosen, after all. All they can do is hope to find some winning formula or administrative mercy to temporarily stay the invisible hand from flipping the dial up that final, fateful notch. If they can't? Well, it's just the cost of doing business.

These five coaches may, sadly, be in the latter category. In no particular order, barring some late-season Cinderellary, these five coaches may soon find their jobs cooked, at least with their current programs.

No animals were harmed in the writing of this listicle.

John Groce, Illinois Fighting Illini

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Year hired: 2012
Record since hiring: 63-40
Record this season: 16-12

The Illini buzzed a few ears early in the season with wins over teams like N.C. State and VCU. People got excited when Malcolm Hill put 40 on Northern Kentucky. 

It hasn't been there lately. One month ago, a top Illini blog called for John Groce's ouster. And, to be perfectly clear, that was a month ago. They're 4-4 since then in the heart of conference season.

"In college basketball, it’s all about wins," wrote the blogger, Trevor Vallese, "and Groce has run out of time to produce them."

Wins like Tuesday's 66-50 effort over Northwestern might provide a balm, but they won't ultimately stanch the wound. This is a program with postseason expectations. If they miss again this year, as they seem likely to do, that would make it four seasons in a row.

Mark Gottfried, NC State Wolfpack

Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

Year hired: 2011
Record since hiring: 109-69
Record this season: 15-14

This one's not a matter of conjecture. Jeff Goodman, a rock-solid basketball writer for ESPN, reported February 15 that Mark Gottfried was probably on his way out:

"

[NC State athletic director Debbie] Yow, according to several sources, has been unhappy with the lack of effort with the current team.

"They have more than enough talent to get to the NCAA tourney," one ACC coach told ESPN. "They just don't play hard at all."

"

You probably won't hear a lot of howling over this report; most fans and observers likely agree with its findings.

A two-point Tuesday win over lowly Georgia Tech probably didn't do much to scrub the memory of the seven-game losing streak that preceded it. That kind of futility, coupled with accusations of low effort, is more than enough to sink a Wolfpack ship that hasn't followed a solid course in some time.

Johnny Jones, LSU Tigers

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Year hired: 2012
Record since hiring: 61-38
Record this season: 9-18

Nothing to see here. Just an active 14-game losing streak and losses to the ilk of 14-13 Vanderbilt and 15-12 Wake Forest.

Johnny Jones is playing the role of sand ostrich, but he has to know he's in trouble. This is a team that had what many considered the No. 1 recruiting class of 2015-16. That included eventual top-overall NBA draft pick Ben Simmons. That team went 19-14 and missed the postseason.

This season's team still has Antonio Blakeney and Brandon Sampson from that class, and their level of play is still circling somewhere in an oceanic dead zone. 

What can raise the Tigers from their funk? At this point, it looks like they'll need a coaching change for that.

Tom Crean, Indiana Hoosiers

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Year hired: 2008
Record since hiring: 163-132
Record this season: 15-13

What a long and not-good trip it's been these past several years for Indiana basketball.

It would take a lot of pixels to go back over all the drama of the Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson eras, much less the ongoing Tom Crean troubles. And I'm not even going to say anything about that guy whose last name rhymes with kite.

Not to say there haven't been good times with Crean. Four tournament appearances and two regular-season conference titles in six full seasons is very good. Injuries to OG Anunoby and James Blackmon also "help" Crean's case for this season. 

It may not be enough, though. This is a team that was picked third in the Big Ten before the season started; they currently sit 12th. 

Crean's reputation as a prickly taskmaster isn't exactly providing a ton of cushion, either. Neither is his propensity to blame his players—kind of a taboo in college sports.

“I’ve never coached a team with this lack of maturity when it comes to being able to respond and rebound from when things aren’t going well for them personally,” Crean said after the team's loss to Michigan, per Mike Rutherford of SB Nation. “That includes the teams that have won six or eight games. [Center] Thomas Bryant is working his tail off to become a leader of the team, but he needs a little more help. It’s a 19-year-old guy trying to find his own game and trying to lead a group of guys that really he should be getting a little more help from.”

By the end of this season, we'll see whether those guys are willing and able to give that help to their teammates—and coach.

Brad Brownell, Clemson Tigers

Phil Sears/Associated Press

Year hired: 2010
Record since hiring: 74-59
Record this season: 14-13

They lose the close ones. They lose the not-so-close ones. The only constant for Brad Brownell's Tigers this season is the losing.

To be fair, Cardiac Clemson is an apt descriptor this season. Thirteen of their games have been decided this season by six points or fewer. They are 2-10 in those games.

Brownell's first season hinted at so much promise. Behind stars like Jerai Grant, they reached the tournament's second round. But they haven't been back.

With apologies to Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson simply hasn't been able to attract enough talent to compete on Tobacco Road. Thanks to its football team, this community suddenly has a taste for winning. Their patience with Brownell might be running short.