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There's a saying that players win games, coaches lose them and this remains true in college basketball.
When a team wins a game, the players normally gain plaudits for a game-winner, a crucial play or a scoring run. However, if the team loses on a last-second shot or a botched defensive play, it's the coach who receives the hot takes from basketball experts and media.
Like other teams in professional leagues such as the NBA, NFL and MLB, NCAA men's basketball programs also fire coaches who aren't performing as expected.
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Last season, Kentucky gave former champion coach John Calipari his release papers after three straight seasons of not moving past the second round.
Another high-profile firing occurred in the middle of the 2023-24 season when the Ohio State Buckeyes showed the door to Chris Holtmann. He was fired after setting a school record 18-game road losing streak and was replaced by Jake Diebler.
The 2024-25 season won't be different from the previous years, as there could be a lot of coaches who might get released after a disappointing performance. Here are the five coaches who may likely get fired after the 2024-25 NCAA men's basketball season.
Five college basketball coaches who might get fired after 2024-25 season
#1. David Riley, Washington State Cougars
David Riley was the architect of Eastern Washington's rise in the Big Sky Conference. He guided the Eagles to back-to-back Big Sky regular season championships in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Riley's achievements with Eastern Washington caught the attention of Washington State and they hired him as a replacement for Kyle Smith. The latter got acquired by Samford as their new bench tactician.
Riley, who is 62-38 in three years of coaching for the Eagles, started from scratch as only one player returned from the 2023-24 roster. He picked 12 new players —seven from the transfer portal, four high school recruits and one redshirt freshman— during the offseason.
Although four of his players come from Eastern Washington, adjusting with other teammates would be a long process as there might be familiarity issues.
Washington State also transferred from Pac-12 to the West Coast Conference, so chances are they would like to impress the nation and compete with their conference foes.
Unfortunately, the WCC is a different animal with Gonzaga and Saint Mary's dominating the group. This may lead to a struggle for Washington State wherein college basketball fans may ask for Riley's firing to stop the bleeding.
#2. Matthew Graves, Indiana State Sycamores
Matthew Graves is getting another opportunity to coach a Division I school after losing his job in 2018 with South Alabama.
In the five years he's been with the Jaguars, Graves guided the team to a 65-96 record. South Alabama didn't go higher than sixth in the Sun Belt Conference with him mapping out the plays.
Graves had a second chance when he joined Indiana State's coaching staff as an associate coach in March 2021. Three years later, he and head coach Josh Schertz guided the 2023-24 Sycamores to a 32-7 record to win the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
The Sycamores concluded the season by reaching the NIT final. He was hired in April as a replacement for Schertz.
Based on his previous coaching stint, Graves may not get the success he's having as an assistant/associate coach. He might get caught in another tailspin with Indiana State unless he forms a group of formidable players who could do the job and win games.
A bad first season might get him fired from his second stint as head coach if he fails to maintain or surpass the Sycamores' 32-7 record this past season.
#3. Mike Woodson, Indiana Hoosiers
Mike Woodson could be in deep trouble this coming season if he fails to lead Indiana to the Sweet 16 or better. During his first three seasons, Woodson is 63-40, but had a 31-29 against Big 10 opponents and worse, he hasn't guided the Hoosiers past the Round of 32.
This past season, Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament after going 19-14 (10-10 in Big 10) and fans on social media are calling him out. They are urging him to retire from coaching or clamoring for his ouster.
In the 2024-25 season, the former bench tactician of the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks will have the luxury of a solid lineup. He will have Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo, Kanaan Carlyle and Luke Goode teaming up with the holdovers and five-star small forward Bryson Tucker.
#4. Greg Gard, Wisconsin Badgers
Greg Gard has had a ton of success with the Wisconsin Badgers, especially during his first two years. He guided the squad to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, in the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Tournaments.
After a bad 2017-18 season, Gard rallied his troops to help guide Wisconsin to four of five NCAA Tournaments, from 2019 to 2024 (2020 was excluded due to COVID). Despite frequently making the NCAA Tournament, his team hasn't gotten past the Round of 32.
The coming season would mark his 10th year as coach for the Badgers and college hoops fans are hoping he'll get past the Sweet 16 barrier or else....
#5. Steve Forbes, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest hired Steve Forbes in 2020 after he guided East Tennessee State to a 130-43 record. However, when he got to Wake Forest, he wasn't the same coach who guided the Buccaneers to a 2020 Southern Conference regular season and tournament double.
The team stumbled during his first year, going 6-16. Forbes and the Demon Deacons bounced back the following year, with a 25-10 mark, but they only made the NIT quarterfinals. The next two years were worse as the team lost 14 games each and won an average of 20 matches.
In 125 games with Wake Forest, Forbes is 71-54. If he doesn't lead the Demon Deacons to a higher seeding in the star-studded Atlantic Coast Conference, a pink slip could be made sooner than later.
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