SNL Dominates March Madness with These Sketches Starring Melissa McCarthy & More
Melissa McCarthy is fall-down funny as a terrorizing NCAA basketball coach.
As college basketball teams duke it out during March Madness, Saturday Night Live has several hilarious sketches to watch in between all of the action on the court.
From parodying a popular sports doc to and offbeat sportscasts and hosting a March Madness party with your (very) quirky coworkers, SNL has produced some ingenious ideas in honor of the annual NCAA tournament over the years.
Watch five of SNL's most memorable March Madness sketches below.
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Outside the Lines
Whether McCarthy is starring in beloved comedies or hosting SNL, the Five-Timers Club member always delivers.
Inspired by ESPN's Outside the Lines segment that revealed former Rutgers Coach Mike Rice’s abusive behavior on video, SNL’s Season 38 pre-taped sketch stars Melissa McCarthy as women’s college basketball coach, Sheila Kelly. Cast member Bill Hader also stars in the sketch as a sports journalist investigating “Coach Kelly’s reign of terror” against her players at a fictional Division III university, Middle Delaware State.
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McCarthy’s physical comedy expertise was put to good use throughout the sketch, which features Coach Kelly chucking bread, basketballs, and even a toaster at her players. McCarthy's character also drives a golf cart, chasing her basketball team around the court.
“Dribble or dodge me!” Coach Kelly screams. “Quick feet! Quick feet! If you don’t move, I’m gonna barrel you! Yeah, move!!”
Weekend Update: Charles Barkley on NCAA Basketball
Kenan Thompson stars as NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley in this Season 38 Weekend Update segment with Seth Meyers. While Thompson, as Barkley, is supposed to discuss the 2013 NCAA tournament, the basketball pro turned sportscaster is a bit more focused on his own personal finances.
“This tournament has been so exciting with so many surprises and unpredictable upsets. And damn if I haven’t lost so much money! I mean, it’s terrible how much I owe these bookies,” he says on Weekend Update. “People thought it was bad that I do all these Weight Watchers commercials, wait until you see Charles Barkley for Tampax.”
The March Madness-inspired sketch, of course, is all in good fun: In real life, Barkley has openly discussed his gambling losses (and he's hosted SNL four times over the years, making his debut in 1993). Barkley has even said that he views Thompson’s impression of him as a “tremendous compliment."
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TBS March Madness Cold Open
Kenan Thompson reprises his Charles Barkley impression in this Season 49 cold open sketch with James Austin Johnson as sports commentator Ernie Johnson and Devon Walker as former NBA pro Kenny Smith, aka “The Jet.”
At the sports desk, the trio really only wants to chat about the women’s NCAA tournament, and not the mens' less exciting one. They then bring in Louisiana State University's women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey (Heidi Gardner) via satellite to break down her “tough” coaching approach.
“I work my girls hard. Every day, I make them run 10 miles breathing in Louisiana swamp gas. Then we practice full contact,” Garner says as Mulkey in a thick southern accent. “And if I don’t see hustle, I’ll throw a live alligator on the court!”
After the sketch first aired in April 2024, SNL fans quickly took to social media to applaud Garner’s impression of the LSU coach. “Heidi Gardner as Kim Mulkey on SNL is magic,” one fan tweeted, while another called it “amazing.”
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CBS Sports: Actual Madness Tournament
Putting their own spin on “March Madness,” Kenan Thompson and Jason Sudeikis star as sports commentators Greg Gumbel and Jim Nantz in this Season 36 sketch. Instead of discussing basketball, they analyze brackets for a tournament of “actual madness.”
“It’s the tournament to determine who’s the craziest person in the world,” Sudeikis's Nantz says as photos of world leaders, Hollywood celebrities, and politicians show in a graphic.
Andy Samberg also portrays basketball sportscaster and former coach Dick Vitale, while Fred Armisen played Muammar Gaddafi interviewed by sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson (Nasim Pedrad). Kristen Wiig also appears as Melissa Leo and Bill Hader plays Charlie Sheen.
Cut for Time: March Madness with Ariana Grande
Starring Kyle Mooney as a guy named JoJo and Beck Bennett as his friend BoBo, Host Ariana Grande plays a woman named Carrie who invites her two co-workers to a March Madness party in this Season 41 cut-for-time sketch. The only problem is, the sill pair have no idea what March Madness is or how to simply function at a party. Or really, in everyday life.
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After asking if they’ll be in charge of forming the basketball teams and if the dress code includes capes, JoJo and BoBo make it clear they’ll bring frogs to the party.
“Don’t bring frogs!” Carries yells, flustered by their strange questions and suggestions.
“We’ll probably just bring ‘em,” JoJo says as Bennett nearly breaks character.
