Alabama found out its NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday, and the Crimson Tide have to be regretting their poor showing during the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Alabama picked a bad time to have its worst loss of the season, falling to an under .500 Ole Miss team in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.
That loss unfortunately had major repercussions. The Crimson Tide had the opportunity ahead of them to potentially earn a 3-seed in the Big Dance with a win or two in the SEC Tournament, but the immediate loss knocked them down to a 4-seed, giving them more difficult opponents in the first two rounds, and then 1-seeded Michigan in the Sweet 16 standing in the Tide's way of a third straight trip to the Elite Eight.
Alabama will open the NCAA Tournament against 13-seeded Hofstra on Friday and then play the winner of 5-seeded Texas Tech or 12-seeded Akron on Sunday should the Crimson Tide defeat Hofstra in the opening round.
Alabama earns a (blank) seed in the NCAA Tournament
This is the 9th time in Alabama basketball history that the Crimson Tide is a 4-seed or better in the NCAA Tournament. It's the fifth time that has happened under Nate Oats' guidance, and the fourth consecutive season.
This is the sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for Alabama, which ties the school record set between 1982-87.
As disappointing as Alabama's performance was against Ole Miss, take a second to appreciate the level of consistency that Oats has brought to the basketball program in Tuscaloosa. It has been an incredible run, and recent history is on the Crimson Tide's side.
Two years ago, Alabama was one-and-done in the SEC Tournament, earned a 4-seed in the Big Dance, and then proceeded to go on the program's first Final Four run, which included taking down 1-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet 16.
The task will be arduous. It will take the Crimson Tide's best shot to even get to the second weekend, and its best basketball to have a chance to spring a major upset over Michigan. But this team has proven capable of competing - and beating - some of the best teams in the country.
With Alabama's ability to get hot from deep, paired with one of college basketball's highest tempos, it'll have a puncher's chance against anyone.
But with its consistently poor defensive performances and inability to rebound effectively, getting knocked out in the Round of 64 is not out of the realm of possibility, either.