Category: Sports News

The expectations are always high at Kentucky. And so is the salary for second-year coach Mark Pope, who earned $5.25 million in total compensation during a 2025-26 season that saw the Wildcats ejected in the second round of the Men's NCAA tournament.

Pope’s contract ranks sixth in the SEC, behind two national championship-winning coaches — John Calipari of Arkansas and Todd Golden of Florida — and another two Final Four coaches — Tennessee’s Rick Barnes and Alabama’s Nate Oats.

DATABASE: Check out USA TODAY's coaches salary database

College basketball rankings: Too-early Top 25 poll for 2026-27 season

But Pope might not have the worst contract in the conference. That title could also belong to Mississippi’s Chris Beard, who made $6 million this season as the Rebels slumped to the bottom rungs in the SEC standings.

In his past four seasons, Dusty May has won a combined 124 games, posted a pair of 35-win seasons and led two different programs to the Final Four and won Michigan's first national championship since 1989.

Since Florida Atlantic’s miraculous Final Four run in 2023, May’s profile has grown to the point where his name is near the top of every list of college basketball’s best coaches.

DATABASE: Check out USA TODAY's coaches salary database

College basketball rankings: Too-early Top 25 poll for 2026-27 season

This much is certain: At $3.73 million in total compensation for this season, May definitely provides the best bang for your buck of any coach in the country.

USA TODAY Sports compiled pay information from each school in the Power Four conferences and from each school outside those conferences whose team has appeared in at least three of the past five NCAA tournaments.

May is atop the list of the country’s most underpaid coaches:

Dusty May, Michigan

May’s compensation for this season is an incredible deal given how he’s transformed the Wolverines back into the best team in the Big Ten and a national champion. While he’s due for a major pay raise this spring, especially after the interest from North Carolina, May currently provides what is easily the best return on investment of any coach in our survey for this season.

Pat Kelsey, Louisville

Kelsey inherited an absolute mess at Louisville but has immediately returned the program to the top rung of the ACC. After going 12-52 in the two years prior to his arrival, the Cardinals are a combined 51-19 under Kelsey with two tournament appearances, including a trip to this season’s second round. Overall, he has just one losing record in 14 seasons as a college head coach and has made five of the past six tournaments while at Winthrop, Charleston and Louisville. Kelsey made $3.35 million in compensation this year, fourth among ACC coaches.

Ryan Odom, Virginia

Virginia was facing uncertain times with the retirement of Tony Bennett in October of 2024. Odom arrived last March and overhauled the program's offensive scheme in his first season and led the Cavaliers to a 30-6 record, a second-place finish in the ACC and a trip to the second round before bowing out against Tennessee. He’s now made the tournament at four different spots (UMBC, Utah State, VCU and Virginia). In addition to being maybe the best hire of last offseason, Odom earned $3.28 million in 2025-26 ranked fifth in the ACC.

It’s more a matter of when, not if, the Lakers fall down to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference it seems.

There hasn’t been much going right for the Lakers over the last week and Monday night was no different. For one, the Lakers lost to the Thunder, which didn’t help their own case in the playoff race, even if it was an expected result.

However, they didn’t get any favors, either. After trailing by 21 points in the first quarter, the Rockets stormed back against the Suns to win their seventh straight game and tie the Lakers. That leaves the standings looking as such.

The Lakers have the tiebreaker over the Rockets, so just matching their record would be enough to secure the fourth seed and home court advantage in the first round. But that’s easier said than done.

The Lakers play a pair of play-in teams in Golden State and Phoenix in a back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Houston has its own back-to-back against the Sixers and Wolves, both games at home.

If you’re not feeling good about the Lakers’ chances, you’re not alone. While they can’t fall all the way to the sixth seed, it feels inevitable that they’ll land in the fifth seed. From there, you can pick which is the “better” opponent for the Lakers to face in the first round, but it feels like the fate will be all the same once the postseason arrives.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Relax, you need some information first: what’s left of the Milwaukee Bucks takes on the Detroit Pistons tonight in the Motor City. It’s game 80 of the season and the Pistons have wrapped up the first-seed in the East, while the Bucks are locked into the 11th or 12th spot. And you know what that means—meaningless basketball! Still, just like me, you’ll tune in because we are basketball Bucks sickos, finding comfort in the numb. Despite sitting at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference standings, the season series between Milwaukee and Detroit has been relatively close, with the Pistons leading two games to one. Will they clench the series with a win tonight, or will the makeshift Bucks level it up?

Where We’re At

Despite the NBA investigating the Bucks for “their handling of the player participating policy,” Milwaukee continues to field tanking unconventional lineups, including sitting seven of their top players against the Nets—take that, NBA PA, Shams Charania, and anyone else who’s taken umbrage. And, hey, if Giannis gets his wish, we might even see a lineup featuring three Antetokounmpos! But only if it’s about winning and culture, right Giannis? Squabbles aside, it’s been refreshing seeing the Bucks play as a team recently, especially one driven by Ryan Rollins, Ousmane Dieng, and other young(ish) Bucks like Pete Nance and Jericho Sims who could stick around long-term (shout-out to Cormac Ryan, too, who’s doing everything he can to earn an extended look in Milwaukee or elsewhere). Also, with yesterday’s loss to the Nets, the Bucks are just a game ahead of the Chicago Bulls in the standings. So, if you’re feeling down, that might (paradoxically) ease your pain.

The Pistons, meanwhile, have earned the right to play—or sit—whoever they want after locking up the best record in the Eastern Conference. A gritty defensive team that pays homage to Detroit teams of yesteryear, the Pistons’ attention is focused on postseason success after losing to the New York Knicks 4-2 in the first round last year—and not winning a series since 2007-2008. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff will likely feature in end-of-season Coach of the Year conversations, and the Pistons have to be happy with how he’s led the team to success in the recent absence of should-be-but-can’t-be MVP candidate Cade Cunningham (eight wins, three losses). But for a coach who’s relied on depth and players coming through in waves—11 players average over 17 minutes per game on the season—Bickerstaff still has work to do figuring out who deserves to be in the inevitably-shortened playoff rotation. Tonight, then, might just have meaning after all.

Injury Report

With the Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back, their official injury report hasn’t yet been submitted. However, with Giannis (knee), Kyle Kuzma (Achilles), Kevin Porter Jr. (knee), Bobby Portis (wrist), Ryan Rollins (hip), Gary Trent Jr. (hip), and Myles Turner (ankle) all out against the Brooklyn Nets yesterday, we’re likely in for some interesting rotations once again tonight.

For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham (left lung; pneumothorax) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf; strain) are both questionable.

Player to Watch

After a rocky first half to the season, in which he was barely in the rotation—just 14.4 MPG in 30 of the team’s first 41 games—Jericho Sims’ second half has been nothing short of inspiring. Prior to yesterday’s game against the Nets, Sims had appeared in 33 of a possible 37 games, averaging what-would-be career highs of 22.7 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 APG (he even had a career-high-tying six assists against the Nets last night). But this pattern of deficiency and excellence is not limited to the first and second halves of the season. Overall, Sims has proven elite in points per shot attempt (99th percentile for bigs), effective field goal percentage (99th percentile) and, surprisingly, assist to usage ratio (91st percentile), per Cleaning the Glass. Yet, he’s also proven poor in steal percentage (9th percentile), block percentage (10th percentile), and, true to the eye test where his hands often look like two balloons, turnover percentage (0th percentile—yes, apparently that is a thing!). All considered, this Jekyll-and-Hyde profile shouldn’t be surprising—Sims is an NBA journeyman after all. However, with all eyes on the future, if Sims can even marginally shore up these weaknesses, his efficiency alone could make him a far more impactful rotation piece moving forward. What better time to start than tonight, against budding All-Star big Jalen Duren?

How To Watch

Tune in at 6:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

For the two of you out there waiting for the newest entry in the Cavalier of the Week series. Forgive me. I have dropped the ball and now have to pick up the slack. That being said, in the time I haven’t handed the award out, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a little bit of a run, going 9-2 since I last donned someone with the incredible honor of being a Cavalier of the Week.

That being said, I am going back to the well and nominating Jarrett Allen for Cavalier of the Week again. The first two-time winner of the illustrious award. What an honor Jarrett.

In all honesty, with the level of defense — if you can even call it that — we have seen in the last month or so, I cannot in good faith award either James Harden or Donovan Mitchell with the award.

Average Player Grade over last 11 games: A-

Stats during that stretch: 4 games played 16.3 ppg, 9 rpg, 0.8bpg in 21.4 mins per game

Standout performance: Tuesday 3/31 against Los Angeles Lakers (18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists in 19 minutes)

For those immediately wondering how I can pick Allen for the award when he has only suited up in four of the eleven games, I do not blame you. Despite the Cavaliers currently ending the season with one of their best stretches in terms of record. It doesn’t feel like the team can make a real swing for a title if Jarrett Allen isn’t on the floor.

To see how the Cavaliers rely on Allen, look no further than the “standout performance” for Allen. The Cavaliers looked awful against the Lakers. Plain and simple, the team could only find reliable contributions on offense if Jarrett was given the ball. Allen delivered on every touch. His efficiency against Los Angeles is not an outlier. Allen has had the best stretch of his career both in terms of aggressiveness and efficiency.

While it was only 19 minutes, once Allen was off the floor, the Cavaliers couldn’t find a reliable look offensively, and it led to Atkinson pulling all the starters midway through the third. The formula for a good game for the Cavaliers’ offense was highlighted in this game. Get Allen involved early and often. Most teams do not have the answers to the Harden and Allen pick-and-roll. Once that pairing has its fingerprints on the game, it opens up looks for the Cavaliers on the perimeter.

Now, this highlights an issue we have seen for the Cavaliers this whole season. When Allen is out due to injury, there is no way to replicate this two-man game with the rest of the roster. Mobley, for all he can do on both ends, is not the same roll man as Allen at all. This leads to the Cavaliers’ offense looking like a bunch of chickens running with their heads cut off.

As the Cavaliers look toward the postseason, Allen is the main player to watch. He feels like both an offensive and defensive stalwart. For this responsibility to fall on someone who is still fighting through an injury is far from ideal. The Cavaliers are looking to be fighting an uphill battle as the postseason approaches. However, at least there can be confidence that Allen, if healthy enough is going to be a major contributor.

Jarrett, for the second time… your award is in the mail.

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The dying days of the NBA regular season are loaded with unknowns.
 
While bettors are scratching their heads when it comes to motivations, minutes, and matchups, take comfort in knowing that bookmakers are doing the same.

Picking through the prop markets for value at this time of year requires digging deeper beyond stats and projections. I do my damndest to find those underlying edges with my best NBA prop picks for Wednesday, April 8.

Best NBA player props today

Player	Pick
Chet Holmgren	Over 14.5 points	-110
Donovan Mitchell	Under 24.5 points	-105
Aaron Gordon	Over 2.5 assists	+120

Prop #1: Chet Holmgren Over 14.5 Points

-110 at bet365

The Oklahoma City Thunder can secure the No. 1-overall seed in the NBA Playoffs with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers tonight. This contest looks a lot stiffer than OKC’s recent run of games. 

The Thunder were set as double-digit faves in nine of their last 11 outings. Oklahoma City steamrolled in their three most recent showings, allowing for a lighter load for starters like Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren logged just 18, 20, and 22 minutes in that span, but the game script says he’ll see his normal workload (30+ minutes) vs. a Clippers squad (+6.5) still pushing for postseason positioning.

Los Angeles is running thin in the frontcourt. It’s been missing reserve center Yanic Konan Niederhauser for a month, and lost Isaiah Jackson to an ankle injury at the end of March. That’s left L.A. to roll out a much smaller rotation and lean on the 37-year-old legs of Brook Lopez as the lone center.

Holmgren will draw checks from the slower Lopez or smaller forwards John Collins and Nicolas Batum. His points production is forecast between 15.5 and 16.2 versus a scoring prop of 14.5 O/U. 

There’s a much higher ceiling for OKC’s 7-footer, with these numbers tempered by his reduced action in the Thunder’s blowouts. Holmgren dropped 22 points in his last matchup with L.A. in December, and the Clippers still had Ivica Zubac.

• Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FanDuel Sports Oklahoma, FanDuel Sports SoCal

Prop #2: Donovan Mitchell Under 24.5 Points

-105 at bet365

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks are going to be sick of each other. Not only do they close out the schedule with a home-and-home set, but they’re likely meeting in a first-round playoff series.

Cleveland is locked in the No. 4 seed and has nothing to play for in these final games, which means not only protecting your stars but also not tipping your hand against this Atlanta defense.

Guard Donovan Mitchell is one matchup the Hawks need to solve, but they may not get much intel from the Cavs, at least not tonight. 

Mitchell suffered an ankle injury on the weekend and sat out Monday’s win over Memphis. While he’s listed as questionable, Mitchell downplayed the injury and has been adamant about playing out the final games of the schedule.

Player projections vary based on his floor time, with some models sitting as low as 23.2 and others peaking above 29 points. Given Atlanta’s defensive prowess (No. 9 in defensive rating) and the Cavs potentially capping Mitchell’s minutes, I’m leaning toward the lower forecasts.

• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: FanDuel Sports Ohio, FanDuel Sports Southeast-Atlanta

Prop #3: Aaron Gordon Over 2.5 Assists

+120 at bet365

The Denver Nuggets aren’t done yet. With three games remaining, Denver is fighting off a crowd of Western Conference contenders for the No. 3 seed. A matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies helps a lot.

The Nuggets are peaking at the perfect time, bringing a nine-game winning streak into Wednesday, and veteran forward Aaron Gordon is rounding into form after dealing with injury issues all winter.
 
Gordon does it all for Denver, including setting up his teammates. Since getting back to his normal workload in mid-March, Gordon is averaging 3.0 assists on 6.3 potential assists over his last seven games.

He’s dished out five and three dimes in overtime wins against Portland and San Antonio and faces a much easier defense from the Grizzlies. Memphis gives up the fifth-most assists and sits 20th in assist rate allowed on the season. And that's the full squad. The Grizz could hold open tryouts for warm bodies today with just seven healthy players listed.

Player projections for Gordon all sit north of three assists with a ceiling of 3.5 dimes tonight.

• Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Altitude Sports, FanDuel Sports Memphis

These props are available now at bet365, one of our best betting sites.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

USA TODAY Sports requested all forms of compensation for the men’s basketball head coach, and/or acquired the federal tax return, from each school in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences and from prominent schools outside those conferences whose teams have appeared regularly in NCAA tournaments in the past five years.

Except as noted, a not available (designated by “—" in the table) denotes schools that are private; did not release the information; or schools whose coaches are new. A $0 means the coach doesn’t get compensation from that source. In cases where an athletically related outside-income report was unavailable, a coach’s compensation might be undercounted by thousands of dollars from that category alone.

Figures for public schools are based on the coach’s contract year that covers, or covered, the 2025-26 season, including the most recently available base salary.

COMPENSATION CATEGORIES

SCHOOL PAY: The most recently available base salary, except as noted; income from contract provisions other than base salary that are paid, or guaranteed, by the university or affiliated organizations, such as a foundation or an athletics department operating as a related non-profit organization. Examples include payments in consideration for shoe and apparel use; television, radio or other media appearances; and personal appearances.

It also includes deferred payments earned annually, conditional or otherwise; contractual expense accounts (if unaudited) and housing allowance; signing and other one-time bonuses considered to be earned in the current contract year.

It does not include other amounts that might have been earned as annual incentive bonuses in other years, the value of standard university benefits such as health care or the value of potentially taxable items such as cars; country club memberships; game tickets for the regular season, postseason and other sports; the value of stadium suites; travel upgrades; spouse/family travel and game tickets; and amounts connected to transactions related to buyouts owed by coaches for terminating a contract with a prior employer.

OTHER PAY: Amounts listed on the coach’s most recently available, self-reported athletically related outside-income report. Some public schools, citing public records disclosure exemptions, do not provide the outside-income report.

TOTAL PAY: Sum of School Pay and Other Pay.

MAXIMUM BONUS: The greatest amount that can be received if the team meets prescribed on-court performance goals (e.g., NCAA Tournament goals, wins totals, regular-season and/or conference tournament championships, coaching awards, etc.), academic and/or player-conduct goals. Also includes amounts for reaching ticket sales, attendance or other goals, including those related to national TV appearances and guarantee-game revenue. Bonuses that can be awarded on a discretionary basis are not included.

BONUSES PAID: These were not calculated for the 2025-26 seasons.

SCHOOL BUYOUT OWED AS OF APRIL 1, 2026: Amount school would owe coach if he is fired without cause on April 1, 2026. Except as noted, these figures do not take into account the potential impact of automatic contract extensions that could be achieved in connection with meeting goals such as the team appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Many of these amounts are expressly subject to coach’s duty to make good-faith efforts to find another job, with income from that employment offsetting the amount owed. If mitigation and offset are not addressed in contract, coach still may have obligation to make efforts in that regard.

NOTES

AMOUNTS IN ADDITION TO COACHES' TOTAL PAY: Includes payments made by schools and/or their affiliated organizations on behalf of coaches who owed buyout amounts to their previous employer for terminating contracts so they could accept employment elsewhere.

PITTSBURGH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS: The pay information listed came from federal tax returns or the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law report. Documents provide compensation for 2023 calendar year based on all income paid by the school or support organizations, including benefits, perks and performance bonuses.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 NCAA men’s basketball head coach salaries methodology