Alabama Basketball: SEC update and latest Big Dance projections

There are three more regular season games for Alabama Basketball and the rest of the SEC. The Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies remain one game apart in the SEC standings. The Aggies have the easier closing schedule with a challenging game in Starkville on Saturday, followed next week by a road game to Ole Miss and a home date with the Crimson Tide. Alabama finishes with Arkansas and Auburn at home and A&M in College Station.

With the return of Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas is suddenly a much-improved team. Smith missed almost two months of action, even leaving the team at one point to seek an outside medical opinion. Since his return and recovery, he had a rough performance against Mississippi State two weeks ago, followed by playing just four minutes against Texas A&M. He started and played better in the win over Florida. He was outstanding in the most recent Arkansas game, scoring 26 points against Georgia and shooting 62.5% outside the arc.

At 19-9 on the season, Arkansas is not a bubble team, hovering around an 8-seed in most bracket projections. Beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa would boost the Hogs’ Big Dance chances for a higher seed.

Next Wednesday, Auburn, also at 19-9 will seek a statement win in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers could have an unpleasant finish at Kentucky, at Alabama and home to Tennessee.

Alabama Basketball Rankings

Skipping over the AP and Coaches polls that do not matter, Warren Nolan provides a detailed summary of the important rankings for the Alabama Crimson Tide. As of, Thursday, Feb. 23, Alabama Basketball is ranked No. 1 by Jeff Sagarin and in Kevin Pauga’s KPI. The Crimson Tide is No. 2 in Strength of Record (SOR), and No. 2 in ESPN’s BPI. After the overtime win over South Carolina, Ken Pomeroy’s algorithm dropped the Crimson Tide from No. 2 to No. 3.

SEC Rankings thru 15 games

• Alabama Crimson Tide 14-1
• Texas A&M Aggies 13-2
• Kentucky Wildcats 10-5
• Tennessee Vols 9-6
• Auburn Tigers 9-6
• Missouri Tigers 8-7
• Arkansas Razorbacks 8-7
• Vanderbilt Commodores 8-7
• Florida Gators 7-8
• Mississippi State Bulldogs 6-9
• Georgia Bulldogs 6-9
• South Carolina Gamecocks 3-12
• LSU Bengal Tigers 2-13
• Ole Miss Rebels 2-13

Big Dance Bracket Projections

Updated Bracketology on Feb. 23 by 1-3-1 Sports and Team Rankings have the Crimson Tide still as the overall No. 1 seed. Team Rankings projects Alabama and Houston, at almost equal odds, have the best chances to reach the Final Four and win the National Championship.

The latest bracket from 1-3-1 Sports has Alabama in the South Region opening against the winner of a Fairleigh Dickenson vs. Alcorn St. play-in game. Next up for Alabama, as currently projected would be the winner of Rutgers vs. Kentucky.

Other top teams projected in the South Region are 2-seed Baylor, 3-seed Virginia, 4-seed U Conn and 5-seed Miami.

Most current Bracketology has eight SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

Alabama, with only one SEC loss, has already qualified for a double bye in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s first game in Nashville will be on Friday, Mar. 10.