Alabama Basketball: SEC Power Ranking and Bubble Watch Feb. 3

With two recent Alabama basketball losses, the Tide record fell to 12-9. Check out where the Crimson Tide stands in SEC Power Rankings and NCAA Tournament Bubble.

February is time to start considering the NCAA ‘Bubble’ and specifically the chances of Alabama basketball making the 68-team field. Last week’s losses to LSU and Arkansas were not deal-killers for the Tide. Both teams are rated high enough, the Tide did not slip far in the NCAA Net Ranking.

The twin problems for the Crimson Tide are needing more wins and specifically needing a quality road win. Given the indefinite absence of Herbert Jones from the lineup, wins will be a challenge.

In the remaining 10 regular-season games, the contests are evenly split between home and away. The remaining chances for an impressive road win are in Auburn and Starkville.

Check out the SEC teams in the latest NCAA NET and Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. This post will be updated with new AP Poll numbers on Monday afternoon.

Auburn – No. TBD (AP); No. 19 (NCAA Net); No. 33 (kenpom)

LSU – No. TBD (AP); No. 22 (NCAA Net); No. 32 (kenpom)

Kentucky – No. TBD (AP); No. 27 (NCAA Net); No. 36 (kenpom)

Arkansas – TBD (AP); No. 34 (NCAA Net); No. 34 (kenpom)

Mississippi State – TBD (AP); No. 38 (NCAA Net); No. 35 (kenpom)

Alabama Crimson Tide – Unranked (AP); No. 41 (NCAA Net); No. 46 (kenpom)

Florida – Unranked (AP); No. 42 (NCAA Net); No. 42 (kenpom)

Tennessee – Unranked  (AP); No. 70 (NCAA Net); No. 65 (kenpom)

South Carolina – Unranked (AP); No. 74 (NCAA Net); No. 82 (kenpom)

Georgia – Unranked (Ap); No. 90 (NCAA Net); No. 96 (kenpom)

Missouri – Unranked (AP); No. 95 (NCAA); No. 106 (kenpom)

Ole Miss – Unranked (AP Poll); No. 111 (NCAA Net); No. 124 (kenpom)

Texas A&M – Unranked (AP Poll); No. 139 (NCAA Net); No. 170 (kenpom)

Vanderbilt – Unranked (AP); No. 169 (NCAA Net); No. 191 (kenpom)

Our weekly Bama Hammer SEC Power Ranking is offered below. It is simply a subjective listing of the best SEC teams from top to bottom. Actual win-loss records are a guide but do not determine each week’s rankings.

SEC Power Rankings – Feb. 3

1. LSU; 17-4
2. Auburn; 19-2
3. Kentucky; 16-5
4. Mississippi State; 14-7
5. Arkansas; 16-5
6. Florida; 13-8
7. South Carolina; 13-8
8. Alabama; 12-9
9. Georgia; 12-9
10. Tennessee; 12-9
11. Texas A&M; 10-10
12. Missouri; 10-11
13. Ole Miss; 10-11
14. Vanderbilt; 8-13

More detailed SEC basketball standings are available here.

NCAA Bubble

Consult your preferred bracketologist. A good start is provided by John Gasaway for ESPN. John says the ‘Bubble’ has 44 teams for 37 available slots. He says 21 of the 44 “should be in.” The other 23 have “work left to do.” Alabama basketball is in the latter group.

Very much in the category of ‘who would have ever …” is the following fact. Among the eight ‘major’ conferences in college basketball (the Power Five, plus the Big East, American Athletic and the Atlantic 10) the worst-ranked Crimson Tide loss of the season is to the North Carolina Tar Heels.