Tubby Smith scores high on Hot Seat Index

As the final leg of the college basketball season is within sight, the coaching carousal has already begun to churn.

Aside from Northwestern’s Bill Carmody, who was fired this weekend after 13 years as head coach, CBS Sports believes Minnesota will likely be the only other school to make a coaching change this off-season.

From a scale of one to 10, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman gave a number to each Big Ten team and all but the Gophers received an index score of less than three.

Tubby Smith, on the other hand, was given a seven.

"His fate could be determined by whether the Gophers can do anything in the NCAA tourney. Remember, he has a new AD in Norwood Teague and hasn’t gotten past the first round of the NCAA tournament in his six-year tenure."

Smith’s job is a little more secure now that his team was officially invited to the Big Dance, but now it’s up to how deep the Gophers can play in the tournament that will ultimately decide Smith’s fate as head coach.

In six years under Tubby, the Gophers have made the NCAA Tournament two other times. Both trips to the tournament resulted in a first round exit.

As the Gophers fly into Austin, Tex. for their match up against the UCLA Bruins on Friday, the game will surely draw interest from a wide base of college basketball fans including head coaching vultures — and I guess Kentucky fans who would love to see Tubby fall on his face.

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