Five potential Gophers coaching candidates to watch in the NCAA tournament

When Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle introduces the next men's basketball coach, it could be someone roaming the sidelines at this year's NCAA tournament.

Friday is when Gophers fans should probably study their TV screens.

They could check out five coaches in action, all potentially in the mix to replace Richard Pitino: San Diego State's Brian Dutcher, Arkansas' Eric Musselman, Utah State's Craig Smith, Loyola Chicago's Porter Moser and Cleveland State's Dennis Gates.

Since Pitino was fired Monday night following his eighth season, the Gophers' opening has sparked "great interest," said Coyle, who couldn't mention specific names.

"We do obviously have candidates that are continuing to play right now," Coyle said. "We want to be respectful of that and respectful of their current positions and those programs. We'll be as efficient as we possibly can and hopefully we can wrap this up in a timely manner."

There are other potential candidates, of course, but Niko Medved (Colorado State), Anthony Grant (Dayton) and former Timberwolves coaches Ryan Saunders and Sam Mitchell aren't in the NCAA tournament.

So, for now, all eyes are on Indiana. Imagine the conversation in the Hinkle Fieldhouse hallway when Dutcher crosses paths with Moser. They'll both coach NCAA tournament games there Friday.

Smith and Gates might also bump into each other, awkwardly, with both of their teams in action with different games at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

And if Arkansas and Utah State advance to Sunday's second round in the South Region, Musselman and Smith might even face off in the battle for the Gophers job game. Wink, wink.

Here's a look at five coaches in the NCAA tournament:

BRIAN DUTCHER

Team: Midwest No. 6 seed, San Diego State (23-4)

Age: 62 • Salary: $1.2 million

First game: 8:40 p.m. Friday vs. No. 11 seed Syracuse (16-9), Ch. 4

Outlook: The Aztecs won the Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles to carry a 14-game winning streak into their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018. Three years ago, in his first season as SDSU coach, Dutcher lost 67-65 against sixth-seeded Houston on a last-second shot. Now he's the higher seed coaching against Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who has lost in the opening round only once (2019) in Syracuse's past nine trips to the NCAA tournament.

ERIC MUSSELMAN

Team: South, No. 6 seed, Arkansas (22-6)

Age: 56 • Salary: $2.5 million

First game: 11:45 a.m. Friday vs. No. 14 seed Colgate (14-1), truTV

Outlook: The Razorbacks might have their best chance to make a deep run since the glory days under Nolan Richardson. Their six losses going into the NCAAs are the fewest since Richardson's 1994 national championship team. Musselman's squad, led by freshman guard Moses Moody, finished second in the SEC and won nine of the last 10 games. Colgate has won 13 in a row and won't be an easy out, led by guard Jordan Burns, the Patriot League Player of the Year.

CRAIG SMITH

Team: South No. 11 seed, Utah State (20-8)

Age: 48 • Salary: $775,000

First game: 12:45 p.m. Friday vs. No. 6 Texas Tech (17-10), TNT

Outlook: This would have been Smith's third consecutive trip to the NCAAs if Utah State had been able to play last year as an automatic bid before the pandemic shutdown. In 2019, the Aggies were 28-6 but lost in the first round to Washington. This team might not be as stacked, but 7-footer Neemias Queta could have an NBA future. The last NCAA tournament for Texas Tech ended in Minneapolis in the 2019 Final Four.

PORTER MOSER

Team: Midwest No. 8 seed, Loyola Chicago (24-4)

Age: 52 • Salary: $1.15 million

First game: 3 p.m. Friday vs. No. 9 seed Georgia Tech (17-8), TBS

Outlook: The Ramblers and Sister Jean are back dancing. Moser's team and its superstar chaplain (she's now 101 years old) were the darlings of the 2018 NCAA tournament, making a Final Four run, so the Ramblers aren't coming out of nowhere now. But the Missouri Valley champion is capable of advancing again behind All-America Cameron Krutwig. The Yellow Jackets have momentum as the surprise winner of the ACC tournament over Florida State, but ACC player of the year Moses Wright is out reportedly because of COVID-19 protocol.

DENNIS GATES

Team: Midwest No. 15 seed, Cleveland State (19-7)

Age: 41 • Salary: $305,000

First game: 6:15 p.m. Friday vs. No. 2 seed Houston (24-3), truTV

Outlook: Gates had a cool story he shared with media this week about a car ride years ago with Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, then at Oklahoma. Sampson's advice inspired the then-graduate assistant, and now they'll face each other in Gates' first NCAA tournament game in his second season as Cleveland State's coach. The Vikings, who are dancing for the first time since 2009, are long shots to advance. But the Horizon League champions were close to upsetting a top-tier opponent earlier in the season in a 71-67 loss at Ohio State.