The power of music. Nothing like it. Think about the bands and artists that mean the most to you, how they reflect your personality and have shaped who you are. College
basketball coaches are no different. Though they sometimes might not seem like it, I assure you they are indeed human. And just like you, they've got their favorites. Being a huge
music guy myself, I wanted to bring back a . Let's peek at these coaches' favorite streaming artists and those who dominates their record collections (or CD archives) to get a better sense who they are as individuals. With the 2024 NCAA Tournament set to tip off, I reached out to all 68 coaches and had them answer one simple question: Who's your favorite band or musician? The answers ranged in genre from rock to hip-hop to old-school soul to go-go music to legacy artists, vintage R&B and ... you know she's inevitable ... Taylor Swift. Let's go on tour right now. Here's the soundtrack to this year's NCAA Tournament. We start in the East, the only region where every coach has a different pick. The coach of reigning champion UConn, Dan Hurley, is all-out grunge. Huge Pearl Jam guy. Meanwhile, there's Mark Pope, who lists
Taylor Swift as his favorite, primarily because he says his daughters' massive fandom has worn off onto him, and it's now the music that brings him the most joy because it brings them the most joy. Since this is sports, you knew we'd get some of "The Boss." Brian Dutcher is one of two who picked Bruce Springsteen, and that's a great music matchup vs. Andy Kennedy's selection of Bob Marley. I'd list T.J. Otzelberger's Ed Sheeran choice as one of the five biggest surprises on the board (Dusty May's devotion to Rod Wave right there next to it). James Jones' Marvin Gaye selection is among the coolest, and I haven't been able to shake the image of Chris Collins vibing to Babyface for two weeks. I'll start with John Calipari, who is the only coach out of the 68 surveyed who claims to basically never listen to music. But he does know some Drake; this is obviously a recruiting tool. You're getting called out, Cal! Elsewhere, well, this region is all over the map. Scheyer also offered
Drake, but I'll take John Becker's Black Crowes pick there. Becker plays the drums in his spare time. Western Kentucky's Steve Lutz is one of two Parrotheads in the field (along with Creighton's Greg McDermott). The best match up of them all? So much respect for Fred Hoiberg for picking
Queen. A phenomenal choice, and it's a '70s powerhouse matchup vs. Buzz Williams' Doobie Brothers selection. Classic rock! Two for Tuesday! Dads everywhere approve. Nothing but respect for Tad Boyle's devoted Beatles fandom. You can never go wrong with the Fab Four. You can't go wrong with Sublime, either. An amazing pick from Florida's Todd Golden -- and exactly why I love putting this together. Grambling State is in the tournament for the first time ever, and its coach, Donte Jackson, reps Young Jeezy. South Carolina's Lamont
Paris is huge on 2Pac. (Do we think the guy he's coaching against, Dana Altman (major Eagles fan), could name one 2Pac track?) That's why this is so fun. The best music matchup is Bill Self (Earth Wind & Fire) vs. Bucky McMillan (Sam Cooke). If you assume based on his selection that McMillan is 64 years old ... um, no. He's barely 40. "Old soul here," he said. Will Wade's also an Earth, Wind &
fire fan; we could have two coaches facing off in the second round listening to the same music on their ride into the arena. Luke Combs also got a number of votes. He's been a smash thanks to his cover of Tracy Chapman's timeless classic, "Fast Car." The huge genre clash is the 2 vs. 15 matchup: Rick Barnes' Carrie Underwood vs. Bashir Mason's Jay-Z. But the biggest potential matchup on the board? If
Colorado State beats
Virginia, it'll be Prince vs. Michael Jackson -- the biggest music rivalry of the '80s. There's a few votes for Prince, and not just that, a couple of coaches listed him as a close No. 2. Yes, Hubert Davis loves Lil Durk, and yes, he only listens to the clean edits. In that bracket, is there a more legit choice in this entire thing than Kenny Blakeney staying loyal to local roots and picking D.C. go-go gods The Backyard Band? Respect. Wagner's Donald Copeland keeping it close with
Jay-Z is also awesome. This region also features my favorite: Dave Matthew Band. Chris Jans and Richard Pitino, let's talk deep cuts sometime, yeah? Tommy Lloyd is not only a Beastie Boys fan, he might love the Beasties as much or more than any other coach loves any other artist in this field. Once raged deep into the night while watching them at The Gorge in the '90s. Can rap word-for-word most of the discography. Lloyd also lists Beck as his second favorite. Randy Bennett told me he's never seen "The Boss" in concert but is aiming to catch him this spring. What surprises you less: The coach at Colgate loving Coldplay or Brad Brownell being a Stapleton guy?