Alabama Basketball: Countdown to March Madness Selection Sunday

Why start a countdown now for Alabama Basketball and Selection Sunday? Not for another 52 days will Alabama Crimson Tide fans know Alabama’s seed and opening round location. But in this nearly unprecedented season, we already know one thing. The 2022-23 Alabama Crimson Tide will be an NCAA Tournament team.

Technically, Nate Oats’ team needs a few more wins, but multiple March Madness prediction sources already have the Tide’s Big Dance chances at 100%.

Given the above, Bama Hammer will take frequent deep dives into Crimson Tide Bracketology, along with other likely top-seeded teams and every projected NCAA Tournament, SEC team.

Alabama Basketball Bracketology – Jan. 18

On Wednesday, reflecting the Kansas loss to Kansas State, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi moved Alabama Basketball up one slot. Now the Crimson Tide is not just a 1-seed, but No. 2 among the four projected 1-seeds.

Purdue is Lunardi’s current overall 1-seed. Houston is No. 3 and Kansas is No. 4.

Lunardi has six SEC teams in the Big Dance field, with Kentucky being his last pick in his ‘last four in’ category. He also has Texas A&M at the top in his ‘next four out’ category.

His last full bracket, published on Tuesday morning had Tennessee as a 2-seed; Arkansas and Auburn as 6-seeds, and Missouri as a 9-seed.

Also before the games on Jan. 17, the compilation site, Bracket Matrix had 15 Crimson Tide opponents in the 2022-23 season as NCAA Tournament teams. Not all of them will end up making the NCAA Tournament, but the projections show the difficulty of the Crimson Tide’s schedule.

In terms of predictions, with each win, it seems another source joins the Alabama bandwagon. On Wednesday, Charles Barkley said, though it pains him to state it, Alabama is the best team in the country. Warren Nolan is respected for the accuracy of his predictive algorithm. Nolan has Alabama Basketball finishing the regular season at 29-2, including going 18-0, in the SEC schedule. Nolan also projects the Crimson Tide to finish with the nation’s No. 1 Strength of Schedule (SOS) and to have gained nine, Quad 1 wins.

Even better known than Nolan is Ken Pomeroy, whose algorithm is almost as bullish on the Crimson Tide as is Nolan’s.

Of course, as good as Alabama is, nothing can be taken for granted. The Crimson Tide has future games it can lose. It is much too early for Crimson Tide fans to celebrate anything more than each win as they come. Let’s savor the ride until March and hopefully beyond.