Alabama Crimson Tide and SEC Big Dance Bracketology

It might surprise some Alabama Crimson Tide fans to know NCAA Tournament teams are being picked on Wednesday in Indianapolis. Automatic qualifiers are not the teams being picked. The auto qualifiers in effect pick themselves. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee begins picking at-large teams a few days before Selection Sunday.

On the first day of work in Indianapolis, a couple of dozen at-large ‘locks’ will be identified. The Alabama Crimson Tide is one of them. One and out in the SEC Tournament would do nothing to keep the Crimson Tide out of the NCAA Tournament field. On Wednesday morning, Joe Lunardi explained Alabama is already a 1-seed lock.

Alabama Crimson Tide will be a 1-seed

The only possible slippage for the Crimson Tide would be not ending up as the No. 1 seed overall. Even if Kansas or Houston (less likely) was to become the No. 1 overall seed, Alabama is almost assured of being in the South Region, meaning games in Birmingham.

For every other SEC basketball team, the situation is much more fluid. Seven SEC teams are in a strong position to make the NCAA Tournament field. An eighth SEC team, Mississippi State would likely get in with a win over Florida, in the SEC Tournament on Thursday.

Over the last few weeks, Bama Hammer has provided frequent Bracketology projections from good sources. The projections will now change so rapidly it is best to go direct to Jerry Palm, Joe Lunardi, and 1-3-1 Sports.

Another good source is the Bracket Matrix, from the Bracket Project. Wednesday’s compilation of 94 bracket projections gives the average seed for SEC teams listed below.

• Alabama Crimson Tide – average seed, 1.00 – Only three teams have a 1.00 average. The other two are Kansas and Houston
• Tennessee Volunteers – average seed, 3.4
• Kentucky Wildcats – average seed, 5.99
• Texas A&M Aggies – average seed, 6.11
• Missouri Tigers – average seed, 7.57
• Arkansas Razorbacks – average seed, 8.54
• Auburn Tigers – average seed, 9.18
• Mississippi State Bulldogs – average seed, 10.82

While Alabama is expected to be placed close to home, there is no such confidence for the SEC’s other teams. Each of the four regions will likely get SEC teams, with the South Region having the most. Any of Alabama’s regular season SEC opponents would be bracketed away from the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first two rounds.

The NCAA Tournament field will be almost locked in by Saturday night. That means the outcome of the SEC Tournament Championship game may have no bearing on NCAA Tournament bids, though it could boost a longshot winner into the Big Dance.