In terms of the NCAA Tournament, the Alabama win over Arkansas reaffirmed that the Crimson Tide is a 99.9% lock to make the Big Dance. With a loss, Alabama would have still been a virtual lock, but the percentage might have dipped a bit.
In the Thursday morning CBS Sports Bracketology, Alabama moved up to a 4-seed in the Midwest region. The Crimson Tide's seed range for Selection Sunday is a 3-seed to a 5-seed. A small chance for a 2-seed would require winning the SEC Tournament.
Some Alabama basketball fans may be concerned that the Crimson Tide dropped one spot in the NCAA NET rankings after beating Arkansas. The NET is just one of several key data measurements used by the Selection Committee. In recent seasons, Wins Above Bubble (WAB) has become more meaningful to the selection process than the NET.
Warren Nolan's team sheets mirror the committee's team sheets. Along with WAB and NET, the sheets include ESPN's BPI and SOR, KPom ratings, KPI ratings, and Torvik's T-Rank. For the three result-based metrics (KPI, SOR, and WAB), the average ranking for Alabama is 11.7. The predictive metrics (BPI, KPom, and T-Rank) give the Crimson Tide an average ranking of No. 19.
Alabama can add more Quad 1 wins
The Crimson Tide has six Quad 1 wins. Only 10 teams have more than six.
It is possible but unlikely for Alabama to win the SEC regular season. Finish the regular season with five more wins, and Alabama would be the SEC Tournament 2-seed. Even with a loss in Knoxville to Tennessee, the Crimson Tide might gain an SEC Tournament double-bye.
A bigger question, weeks away from being answered, is how far the Crimson Tide can go in the Big Dance. Alabama's defensive weaknesses cause concern. A bigger worry is the health of an injury-depleted Crimson Tide roster. In Wednesday night's 250-player minutes, seven Alabama players logged all but 15 minutes.
With that group of seven healthy, plus hopefully soon an eigth with a recovered Taylor Bol Bowen, the Crimson Tide should be a second weekend NCAA Tournament team. Offensively Alabama can play with anyone, allowing the Tide's ceiling to possibly extend beyond a Sweet Sixteen.