Alabama basketball's hopes of earning a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament looked over following back-to-back losses to Tennessee and Florida, the two teams the Tide is in direct competition with for the fourth and final 1-seed.
That changed on Saturday with Alabama's upset of No. 1 Auburn on the road thanks to a buzzer beater by Mark Sears. Beating the Tigers, especially on the road, has reinvigorated Alabama's hopes of getting a 1-seed in the Big Dance.
Auburn, Duke, and Houston seem to have clinched 1-seeds leaving only one spot left available. Most experts believe it is going to come down to a trio of SEC teams.
An ESPN panel of experts led by Joe Lunardi, Myron Medcalf, and Jeff Borzello revealed what they believe needs to happen for the Crimson Tide to jump up to the 1-line.
Borzello believes it could come down to a potential Alabama vs. Florida rematch in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Alabama will have to get past either Kentucky or the Georgia/Oklahoma winner while Florida will have to beat either Missouri or the Mississippi State/LSU winner in order to secure a rematch.
Medcalf thinks Florida has the edge currently but a deep run in the SEC Tournament could change his mind. If Alabama won the SEC Tournament, especially if they beat Kentucky, Florida, and then Auburn/Tennessee to do so, it would be hard to keep them from being a 1-seed.
Lunardi believes it will ultimately come down to the SEC Tournament and which team goes further. Again, a lot could be riding on a potential Crimson Tide/Gators rematch in the SEC semifinals.
Alabama's NCAA Tournament resume is strong
Even with a recent string of losses, Alabama has a legitimate argument to be a 1-seed. The Crimson Tide went 24-7 overall and 13-5 in the SEC against the toughest strength of schedule in the KenPom era (dating back to 1997). Nate Oats as usually scheduled a gauntlet for his team out of conference and that combined with the deepest SEC - and perhaps conference, period - in history, led to an insanely difficult schedule.
All seven of Alabama's losses came against Quad 1 opponents. They played 18 Quad 1 games and have the third most Quad 1 wins - behind only Auburn and Michigan State - in the country with 11. Alabama is 6th in NET.
No team endured a tougher schedule than Alabama, particularly over the last seven games. It was one of the toughest stretches in history.
Team Rankings gives Alabama a 40% chance of earning a 1-seed.
The Crimson Tide has clinched no worse than a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament even if they lose in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday. But it seems if Alabama can make it to the championship on Sunday, or win the tournament outright, they have a legitimate shot at at 1-seed on Selection Sunday.