10 college basketball coaches on the hottest seats entering 2018-2019

1. Steve Alford, UCLA

Alford is 20 games over .500 (55-35) in Pac-12 play over five seasons at UCLA, with four NCAA Tournament bids, four top-four finishes in the conference and one conference tournament title. But the Bruins nearly missed the NCAA Tournament last year, before losing to St. Bonaventure in the First Four, and they’ve yet to  advance past the Sweet 16 under Alford.

Alford put together a very young team this year, with eight freshman, four sophomores and zero seniors, and depth is already being tested. Shareef O’Neal (Shaq’s son) is out for the season due to a heart ailment, fellow freshman Tyger Campbell is out for the season with a torn ACL and most recently redshirt freshman power forward Cody Riley is expected to miss at least three weeks with a jaw injury. Junior forward Alex Olesinski was already expected to be out until at least late this month due to a stress fracture in his right foot.

All of the above absences, including two for the season, might automatically lower expectations heading into this season for some coaches. But this is UCLA, with high expectations (realistic or not), and Alford has to at least lead a deeper tournament run this year to cement his job status. Anything less will have Bruins’ fans calling for his ousting, assuming a disappointing loss or two doesn’t bring that clamoring before then.

If Alford were to be fired he wouldn’t struggle to find a new coaching job. But his sixth season at UCLA is shaping up to be incredibly pivotal to his future there.