Three Jewish coaches entered the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four on Saturday. Now, just one remains.
Florida, coached by Todd Golden, beat Auburn, coached by Bruce Pearl, 79-73 in a close game Saturday evening. It isn’t the first time the two Jewish coaches have shared the court: A decade ago, Golden was at Auburn as an assistant to Pearl, who coached him as a player at the Maccabiah Games in 2009. Golden also played professionally in Israel.
Later that night, Duke, led by Jewish coach Jon Scheyer, lost to Houston in a shocking collapse. Scheyer’s team was up by six with 40 seconds on the clock but crumbled as Houston roared back to win the game, capping a 15-3 run to win 70-67.
In the women’s tournament, USC, coached by Lindsay Gottlieb, who is Jewish, lost in the Elite Eight.
Born in Tel Aviv
Duke’s loss ended hopes of a men’s final Monday night with two Jewish coaches against each other. But Golden will face an opponent whose career began in Israel. Emanuel Sharp, a guard, was born in Tel Aviv, where his father Derrick Sharp coached Maccabi Tel Aviv for more than a decade, and played for Israel’s under-16 national basketball team.
As Golden gets a shot at March Madness glory, he’s also seen controversy: Earlier this year, multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, prompting a Title IX investigation. The charges were dismissed as Golden had not committed misconduct “within a university program or activity,” the investigators said.
The Houston vs. Florida final tips off Monday at 8:50 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.