Alabama Basketball took it on the chin from the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, losing at home 94-85. The Tigers played like a No. 1 ranked team should. Alabama did not. Auburn jumped out to a 9-0 lead and at 16:53 in the first half, the Tigers were up 14-4. Except for two brief respites Auburn held double-digit leads for the first nine-plus minutes of the second half.
Though the loss was a major disappointment, what it means for the rest of the Crimson Tide's season is unknown. But for now, it means nothing. The 21-4 Alabama Crimson Tide did not slip in the most credible computer rankings. In fact, in one, the ESPN BPI, Alabama went up one spot to No. 5. Bart Torvik has the Crimson Tide at No. 5. Kevin Pomeroy and the NCAA NET have Alabama at No. 6. As it was before Saturday's game, the KPI has Auburn No. 1 and Alabama No. 2.
Not every Bracketologist agreed with Joe Lunardi's Saturday assessment that Alabama held on to its projected No. 2 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. In particular, James Fletcher III for On3 has the Crimson Tide projected as the No. 4 overall seed, with the downgrade sending Alabama to the West Region (San Francisco) rather than the Midwest (Indianapolis) where it was projected before Saturday's loss.
More pressing for Alabama Basketball is Wednesday night's contest in Columbus. MO. The Tigers have only one loss at home this season, a three-point defeat to Texas A&M. Missouri's 19-6 record has benefitted from one of the worst non-conference schedules in college basketball but Ken Pomeroy has the Tigers ranked at No. 14, one spot below Texas A&M, nationally. They have won in Gainesville and Starkville, blowing out the Bulldogs two weeks ago by 27 points.
The Alabama Basketball Grind
Alabama has the toughest finish to the regular season in college basketball. The loss to Auburn cannot spiral into multiple additional losses during the next three weeks. The odds for Alabama to hold on to an NCAA Tournament are better for the Crimson Tide than for Florida and Tennessee, the Gators and the Vols have less tough finishing schedules.
For Alabama Basketball to secure a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, it must hold off several teams, including the Missouri Tigers. Having such a schedule grind ahead, playing one less SEC Tournament game could prove valuable.