SI College Basketball: Bubble Trouble, Coaching Moves

Indiana's NCAA hopes fade, USC collapses down the stretch and a wave of coaching searches begins across college basketball.

Selection Sunday is nearly here! But for the Indiana men's basketball program, a tournament watch party is not likely in its future as Kevin Sweeney dives into the Hoosiers' late-season collapse. Meanwhile, two long-ago March stars are now at a crossroads in their head coaching careers. Pat Forde connects Bobby Hurley, who will no longer lead the Arizona State program, and John Pelphrey, who departs Tennessee Tech. On the women's side, the selection committee will have to decide which team receives the No. 1 overall seed and settle the pecking order of the two-seed line. Plus: It's the final weekend for bubble teams to leave a lasting impression before the selection committee renders judgment. Indiana's Disastrous Late-Season Collapse Pushes Hoosiers Out of a March Madness Bid A $10 million roster put the Hoosiers in a strong NCAA tournament position last month before six losses in seven games turned into a painful offseason rebuild for Darian DeVries. Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images By Kevin Sweeney Most teams enter college basketball's conference tournament week looking to play their way into the NCAA tournament. Indiana spent Wednesday night playing its way out.  After a 13-point loss in a must-win game to Northwestern in its first game at the Big Ten tournament, the Hoosiers may as well make other plans for Selection Sunday. While theoretically not impossible the Hoosiers could get a miracle, they project to be a handful of spots from the cut line as of Thursday morning with the field likely to only shrink thanks to bid stealers in recent days. And even if Indiana somehow does sneak in, it will only be because of the futility of other bubble teams, not anything Indiana did while losing six of seven down the stretch. Year 1 under Darian DeVries will be in a very similar place to Mike Woodson's last in Bloomington, Ind., which isn't a comparison anyone in Bloomington wants to hear.  READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM Bobby Hurley and John Pelphrey, Linked by History, Confront Coaching Uncertainty Joe Rondone/Imagn Images By Pat Forde Thirty-four years ago this month, Bobby Hurley and John Pelphrey were the quintessential "coach on the floor" players in the greatest college basketball game ever played—Duke 104, Kentucky 103 in the East Regional final. They were smart, relentless, passionate extensions of Hall of Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino. In a way, their basketball lives became intertwined that dramatic night in Philadelphia. Their jerseys hang in the rafters at blueblood schools: Hurley's at Duke, where he was the star point guard on two national championship teams; Pelphrey's at Kentucky, where he helped resuscitate a program decimated by NCAA sanctions. Then they followed what seemed like manifest destiny into the coaching profession. This March, both are at career crossroads. READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM 📅 March Madness Scott Winters/Getty Images Men's Bubble Watch Oklahoma Streaking to Top of March Madness Bubble Last Four In VCU Auburn SMU Texas READ FULL STORY  BID TRACKER Women's Bubble Watch How Conference Tournaments Impact the Final Field Last Four In Clemson Princeton Colorado Arizona State READ FULL STORY  BID TRACKER  • Bryan Fischer: Men's College Basketball's Awful Bubble Is a Case for Fewer Teams, Not More  • Kevin Sweeney: An All-Access Look at UIC's 20-Hour Sprint Aiming for a NCAA Tournament Bid ⛹️‍♀️ Women's College Basketball Roundtable Grace Hollars/IImagn Images Biggest Questions for the Selection Committee for Women's March Madness Bracket  READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM 📺 On SI TV SI TV goes marching into the NCAA tournament with a five-part docuseries that chronicles the journey of coach Pat Kelsey and the Louisville men's basketball program.  SI TV IS HERE 🌎 Around the Nation Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images Forde Minutes: Conference Tournament Season Hits Full Swing By Pat Forde READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM How USC Collapsed From 18-6 to Missing the NCAA Tournament in a Month Nine Candidates to Take Over for Adrian Autry at Syracuse After Orange Coach's Dismissal Seven Candidates to Replace Damon Stoudamire at Georgia Tech Boston College Dismisses Earl Grant: Five Candidates to Take Over Eagles, Including Program Legend Oregon State to Hire Michigan Assistant Justin Joyner As New Head Coach Big 12's 'Slippery' LED Glass Court Draws Mixed Reviews From Players: 'Making Me Feel Dizzy' College Basketball International Series Plans Games in Croatia and Serbia 📺 Others Receiving Votes Subscribe to SI's college sports show, Others Receiving Votes, for new episodes each week on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. 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