As college basketball players take their team buses to NCAA tournament arenas, many placed on their headphones, listen to the song and absorb the vibes. Trainers also sometimes take a moment to scroll through breaking news reports to escape to the melody filtering through their AirPods.
These soundtracks, perhaps subconsciously, also serve a purpose. Music can calm our nerves or lift our spirits. A selected banger can provide a dose of confidence. A sentimental song can remind us of our great purpose. “Music is the abbreviation of emotion,” Leo Tolstoy once wrote.
I wondered what these tournament superstars can be listening to before they hit the biggest games of their lives as March Madness begins. We asked players and coaches of men’s and women’s tournaments to share their pre-match playlists. Players’ tastes ranged from Nicki Minaj to Veeze and even Elvis Presley. Coaches ranged from Gospel to AC/DC.
You won’t get the same jumps as these athletes by listening to their popular music, but these playlists will prepare you (without sitting on the couch) for their suggestions.
NCAA women’s tournament player lineups
JuJu Watkins
Guard | No. 1 USC
Watkins, the brightest freshman in women’s basketball, has taken the Trojans to recent heights this season. The Los Angeles native, who ranks second in the nation in scoring with 27 points per game, mainly listens to hip-hop before games. But it at all times plays a song from the “Incredibles” soundtrack – one that would replace USC’s 2023-2024 theme song: “Life’s Incredible Again.” He’s definitely in Los Angeles.
“I always play this game before the game,” he says, “because I love ‘The Incredibles’ and it cheers me up.”
DEEPER
Daily NCAA bracket picks: Our expert predictions for each Thursday tournament game
Guardian | No. 3 LSU
Question: Who do you listen to before games?
Flau’jae Johnson: Me.
He’s a baller now. The athlete-rapper has a distribution cope with Jay Z’s Roc Nation label, so why would not she vibe to her own lyrics before games? Perhaps he’ll create a mashup of “One Shining Moment” together with his song “My Moment” if the Tigers repeat as national champions.
“I’m not trying to act like a horny person trying to promote myself, but these are all my songs,” Johnson says. “I listen to myself before matches. I make really motivating, uplifting music. When I listen to my songs, I feel like I can do anything.
Paige Bueckers
Guard | No. 3 UConn
Bueckers is trying to advance to his third Final Four in four seasons with the Huskies. Averaging 21.3 points and shooting nearly 54 percent, he is enjoying a productive – and healthy – season. Her playlist was created to inspire, full of gospel music and contemporary hip-hop. Bueckers often plays Marvin Sapp’s “Thank You For It All.”
“It’s a great gospel song,” he says. “It helps me find peace and gratitude before games.”
Forward | No. 5 in Utah
Pili, a 6-foot-10 forward, led Utah back to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. One of the best and most unusual players in the country, averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 55%. Before matches, he mainly likes hip-hop (from the early 2000s to the present).
DEEPER
What Utah star Alissa Pili represents to fans who flock to see her
Her favorite pre-game song is Drake’s “Up All Night” (featuring Nicki Minaj). “This excites me,” Pili says, calling the 2010 hip-hop single “old school.”
Guard | No. 4 Virginia Tech
Amoore, a senior from Australia, is averaging 19.2 points and 6.9 assists per game. He’s trying to lead the Hokies back to the Final Four. As a courageous defender on the court, it’s no wonder Amoore looks for songs that may energize her.
Her favorite pre-game song, “Never Lose Me” by Flo Milla, builds her confidence. “I try to get in the right mood,” Amoore says. “I’m that girl.” He likes Rihanna
“Love the Way You Lie” to use a little bit of aggression. “I love feeling broken,” she says, “so I’ll leave with clenched fists.”
Women’s NCAA Tournament Coaches’ Mixtapes
There’s a number of personal nostalgia in these coaches’ playlists.
LSU’s Kim Mulkey sings “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Brooks Jefferson. Hailing from tiny Tickfaw, Louisiana, the former four-time highschool state champion clearly loves being reminded of her roots before leading the Tigers onto the field. He also listens to “Louisiana Saturday Night” by Mel McDaniel, the Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn duet “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “Blueberry Hill” by New Orleans legend Fats Domino.
As Mulkey put it, “I’m a small-town Louisiana girl.”
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s playlist is full of South African Amapiano music and West African Afrobeat artists, with rhythms that remind her of comparable music from her childhood. McPhee-McCuin was born and raised in Freeport, Bahamas before coming to the United States for faculty. “I’m an island girl, so I like anything that has a great Caribbean vibe.” The seventh-seeded Rebels are looking to pull off some upsets like they did last season to advance to the Sweet 16.
Veteran coach Vic Schaefer has led Texas to the Big 12 title and has his sights set on winning the top-seeded Longhorns’ first national title since 1986. Part of his heart seems to still be with Mississippi State, where he previously coached for eight seasons. moving to Austin. My favorite thing to listen to before a game is “Starkville City Jail” by Johnny Cash.
Player compilations from the men’s NCAA tournament
Wing | No. 1 North Carolina
To win the NCAA Tournament, you would like strengths at multiple positions, and Ingram’s playlist resembles a full squad. He draws from multiple eras and genres: Veeze’s 2023 hit, Snoop Dogg’s 2004 earworm and Elvis Presley’s 1972 classic. “I just shuffle and whatever’s playing, I just vibrate,” he says.
Ingram, averaging 12.1 points and nine rebounds per game, will work toward a return to the Final Four for his program.
McMillian’s Chance
Guard | No. 6 Texas Tech
The junior is considered one of five Red Raiders players averaging double figures at 10.6 points per game. McMillian hopes to help Texas Tech return to the Sweet 16 after losing on this round last season. You cannot be intimidated for those who want to compete until March, and his musical decisions reflect that understanding. Listening to Youngboy’s “War With Us,” he says, “prepares me to go out there and play, just be fearless.”
Center | No. 4 Chestnut
The SEC tournament MVP wants to keep the good atmosphere going. At best, he listens to music that provides him pleasure. It’s no wonder that at 6’1″ she loves the song “The Biggest”.
“He just talks about being the biggest and one of the best, and he just records his stuff,” Broome says. “It’s a success and the rhythm is pretty good.”
Men’s NCAA Tournament Coaches’ Mixtapes
Man, do these coaches love the 80’s?
(*13*)
UConn’s Dan Hurley looks to repeat as an NCAA tournament champion. Perhaps considered one of his favorite pre-game songs, “Dream On” by Aerosmith, could be dedicated to the underdogs dreaming of upsetting his No. 1-seeded Huskies?
Hurley says he actually listens to it as the news comes closer for another reason. “To release energy,” he says.
As Baylor players take to the court to warm up, Scott Drew listens to Christian-themed music in the locker room for a few moments of pre-game solace. But don’t get him wrong; he will warm up too. Like Texas coach Vic Schaefer, AC/DC thrasher “Thunderstruck” is a game favorite.
One line from Scandal’s 1984 hit “The Warrior” particularly excites Drew: “And victory is mine.”
Athlete
