In the wee hours of Sunday morning, ESPN's Joe Lunardi held Alabama Basketball as a projected NCAA Tournament 4-seed. Lunardi still had the Crimson Tide in the West Region with an opening game against North Dakota State. Bart Torvik's Sunday morning projection has Alabama and Arkansas as 4-seeds with Vanderbilt a 3-seed.
Other bracketologists see the Crimson Tide sliding to a 5-seed. Alabama's resume got a boost from St. John's winning the Big East Tournament. The Red Storm is a projected 5-seed in most brackets, but in a few, St. John's is up to a 4-seed, potentially bumping Alabama down a seed line.
Arkansas is currently a near-consensus 5-seed. If the Razorbacks beat Vanderbilt to win the SEC Tournament, they could displace Alabama on the 4-seed line. The Crimson Tide, having beaten both teams, might be enough for Alabama to lock down a 4-seed.
USA Today Sports published an early Sunday morning bracket update. In it, Alabama was a 5-seed in the East Region. Alabama would open against Akron, with a potential Second Round game against the winner of 4-seed St. John's vs. Hofstra. USA Today's bracket projects that Arkansas will gain a 4-seed after beating Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Alabama Basketball and SEC, NCAA Tournament Teams
USA Today's projection has 10 SEC teams making the Big Dance. Florida is a projected 1-seed. Both Vanderbilt and Arkansas are projected 4-seeds. Seeded below the Alabama Crimson Tide are Tennessee (6-seed), Kentucky (7-seed), and Georgia (9-seed). Texas A&M and Missouri are both projected as 11-seeds, with the Tigers having a Play-In game.
According to USA Today, the Oklahoma Sooners are the top team not making the 68-team field. The Auburn Tigers are also left out of the Big Dance.
This post will be updated throughout Sunday as new projections are released.
UPDATE: CBS Sports' Sunday morning projection has Alabama as a 4-seed. Vanderbilt is a 2-seed and Arkansas a 4-seed. Based on 120 projected brackets, the Bracket Matrix average has Alabama as the third-highest 4-seed.