What do March Madness stars listen to before tipoff? 13 players and coaches share their mixtapes
As college basketball players take their team buses to the NCAA Tournament arenas, many put on headphones, listen to a song and absorb the atmosphere. Coaches also sometimes take a moment to review last-minute scouting reports to escape to a tune filtering through their airpods.
These soundtracks, perhaps unconsciously, also serve a purpose. Music can calm our nerves – or cheer us up. A specific banger can provide a dose of self-confidence. A sentimental song may remind us of our great purpose. “Music is shorthand for emotion,” Leo Tolstoy once wrote.
So now that March Madness is underway, The Athletics wondered what these tournament stars will listen to before competing in some of the most important games of their lives. We asked players and coaches from women’s and men’s tournaments to share their pre-match playlists. The players’ tastes ranged from Nicki Minaj to Veeze and even Elvis Presley. Coaches ranged from Gospel to AC/DC.
You won’t make the same jump as these athletes by listening to their hype music, but these playlists will have you ready (from your couch) for a tip-off.
Mixtapes of Women’s NCAA Tournament Players
JuJu Watkins
Guard | No. 1 USC
Watkins, the brightest freshman in women’s basketball, has taken the Trojans to new heights this season. The Los Angeles native, who ranks second nationally in scoring with 27 points per game, mainly listens to hip-hop before games. But she always plays a song from the soundtrack to “The Incredibles,” a song that could be used for USC’s 2023-2024 theme song, “Life’s Incredible Again.” It’s definitely in Los Angeles.
“I always play this before a game,” she says, “because I love The Incredibles and it gets me excited.”
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Guard | No. 3 LSU
Q: Who do you listen to before games?
Flau’jae Johnson: Myself.
That’s more annoying. The athlete-rapper signed a distribution deal with Jay-Z’s record label Roc Nation, so why not listen to her own lyrics before games? Maybe she’ll do a mashup of “One Shining Moment” with her song “My Moment” if the Tigers repeat as national champions.
“I’m not trying to be a pluggy, commercial-y person, but they’re all my songs,” says Johnson. “I listen to me before the games. I make really motivational, 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 a third Final Four in her four seasons with the Huskies. With an average of 21.3 points and a score of almost 54 percent, she is enjoying a productive – and healthy – season. Her playlist is curated to inspire, packed with gospel and modern hip-hop. Bueckers often plays ‘Thank You For It All’ by Marvin Sapp.
“This is a great gospel song,” she says. “It helps me find my peace and gratitude before the games.”
Forward | No. 5Utah
Pili, a 6-foot-4 forward, has Utah back in the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. She is one of the best (and most unique) post players in the country, averaging 20.8 points per game and shooting 55 percent. She especially likes hip-hop (from early 2000s to present) before the games.
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Her favorite pre-game song is Drake’s “Up All Night” (featuring Nicki Minaj). “It gets me hyped,” says Pili, who calls 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. She tries to lead the Hokies back to the Final Four. As a feisty guard on the court, it’s no wonder Amoore is looking for songs that fuel her energy.
Her favorite pre-game song ‘Never Lose Me’ by Flo Milli builds her confidence. “I’m trying to get into my mood,” Amoore says. “Like, I’m that girl.” She likes Rihanna’s
‘Love the Way You Lie’ to tap into a little aggression. “I like feeling heartbroken,” she says, “so I go out with my fists clenched.”
Mixtapes of women’s NCAA tournament coaches
These coaches have sprinkled quite a bit of personal nostalgia into their playlists.
LSU’s Kim Mulkey features Brooks Jefferson’s “Callin’ Baton Rouge.” The former four-time high school state champion, a native of tiny Tickfaw, La., clearly enjoys being reminded of her roots before leading the Tigers onto the field. She also listens to Mel McDaniel’s “Louisiana Saturday Night,” Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s duet “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and New Orleans legend Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill.”
As Mulkey puts it, “I’m a small-town Louisiana girl.”
Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s playlist is filled with South African Amapiano music and West African Afrobeat artists, while the rhythms remind her of similar music from her childhood. McPhee-McCuin was born and raised in Freeport, Bahamas, before coming to the US for college. “I’m an island girl, so I love anything that has a Caribbean vibe.” The seventh-seeded Rebels are looking to pull off some upsets to advance to the Sweet 16, just like they did last season.
Veteran coach Vic Schaefer led Texas to a Big 12 title and aims to win the top-seeded Longhorns’ first national title since 1986. A little piece of his heart still seems tied to Mississippi State, where he coached for eight seasons. moving to Austin. A favorite pre-game listen is Johnny Cash’s “Starkville County Jail.”
Mixtapes of Men’s NCAA Tournament Players
Wing | No. 1 North Carolina
It takes strengths at multiple positions to win an NCAA tournament, and Ingram’s playlist resembles a full roster. He draws from multiple eras and genres: a 2023 Veeze hit, a 2004 Snoop Dogg earworm and a 1972 Elvis Presley classic. “I just shuffle, and whatever’s playing, I just vibrate,” he says.
Averaging 12.1 points and 9 rebounds per game, Ingram will work to return the storied program to the Final Four.
Chance McMillian
Guard | No. 6 Texas Tech
The junior is one of five Red Raiders averaging double figures with 10.6 points per game. McMillian hopes to help Texas Tech return to the Sweet 16 after losing in that round last season. There’s no need to be intimidated if you want to participate well into March, and his music choices reflect that understanding. Listening to Youngboy’s “War With Us,” he says, “gets me ready to go out and play and just be fearless.”
Center | No. 4 Chestnut brown
The SEC tournament MVP wants to keep the good atmosphere going. Nasty are he best listens to music that makes him feeling like the best. At 6 feet tall, it’s no wonder he loves the song “The Biggest.”
“He just talks about being the biggest and one of the best and just letting your stuff pop,” Broome says. “It gets you hyped, and the beat is pretty good.”
Men’s NCAA Tournament Coaches’ Mixtapes
Boy, do these coaches love the 80s?
UConn’s Dan Hurley is aiming for a championship repeat in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps one of his favorite pre-game songs – “Dream On” by Aerosmith – could be dedicated to the underdogs who dream of upsetting his No. 1 seed Huskies?
Hurley says he’s listening as tip-off approaches for another reason. “To get my energy going,” he says.
Once Baylor players are on the floor for warmups, Scott Drew listens to Christian-themed music in the locker room for a few moments of pre-game comfort. But don’t misunderstand him; he will get excited too. Like Texas women’s coach Vic Schaefer, AC/DC’s thrasher “Thunderstruck” is a game day favorite.
One line in Scandal’s 1984 hit “The Warrior” particularly ignites Drew: “And the victory is mine.”
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletics; Photos of Paige Bueckers and Harrison Ingram: Paige: Jessica Hill/Associated Press, Grant Halverson/Getty Images)