Alabama Basketball: Tuesday afternoon NCAA Brackets update

Alabama basketball clings precariously to a possible NCAA Tournament bid. Check out the latest projections from the top Bracketologists.

They are all must-wins now as Alabama basketball has no margin for failure. A win tonight in Columbia, SC would boost the Tide’s chances. it would have another added benefit. If the SEC is to get eight NCAA Tournament teams, the eighth slot looks like it is down to the Crimson Tide and the Gamecocks. Knocking off South Carolina tonight would give the Gamecocks two straight losses at a very bad time.

The Crimson Tide could survive a loss tonight IF it bounced back with wins against Auburn, Arkansas and two SEC Tourney wins. Lose tonight and beat LSU and Auburn (even with an Arkansas loss) could be sustained with one SEC Tourney win. A word of caution, our projection is only one opinion. We defer to the Bracketology experts. Let’s see where Alabama basketball stands on Tuesday afternoon.

Most fans are content to follow Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm. Both are good, but there are at least several other as credible, and sometimes more credible prognosticators.

A great summary source to follow is Bracketmatrix.com that lists over 100 bracketologists. The most current Matrix has Alabama as a No. 12 seed in 96 of 112 brackets submitted.

Another interesting source is Teamrankings.com. Based on their S-curve calculation, Alabama basketball chances have ticked up from 28 percent to a 34 percent chance of a NCAA bid.  That S-curve indicates the Crimson Tide is the second-highest No. 12 seed in the currently projected NCAA field.

Two other bracketologists whose recent track record is comparable to Lunardi and Palm have shared opinions of the Tide’s chances. Bracketville has the Tide as a 12-seed with a play-in game against Temple. The site projects the Tide as the second team in the category of ‘Last Four In.’

1-3-1 Sports also has the Crimson Tide as a 12-seed with a play-in game.

Joe Lunardi has bumped Alabama basketball up to an 11-seed. He has also taken the Crimson Tide off his list of the ‘Last Four In.’ Jerry Palm has the Crimson Tide as a 12-seed. He has the Tide as the third team in his ‘Last Four In,’ meaning the No. 67 team in the 68-team field.

The Alabama Crimson Tide has a current NCAA Net ranking of 53. It has been bouncing between 51 and 55 over the last several days. The top 40 teams in the Net Rankings are not 100 percent locks but they are close to it. Teams can make the Big Dance with a NET Ranking in the fifties, possibly even in the sixties.

It is not ‘win or go home’ time yet. Technically, that does not begin until conference tournaments begin. But for the Crimson Tide, crunch time could not get any crunchier.