It's a big day for Alabama basketball. Ahead of the massive No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers on Saturday at 3 pm CT in Coleman Coliseum, the NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed their Top 16 for the first time this season.
Much like the playoff committee unveils a Top 12 for several weeks later in the season for football, the tournament committee has started doing the same thing for basketball.
To the surprise of no one, Alabama was a No. 1 seed in the projected bracket, and the No. 2 overall team behind only Auburn. The rankings mirrored the AP Poll with No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Duke, and No. 4 Florida as the four No. 1 seeds.
As the second No. 1 seed, the committee would be sending Alabama to the Midwest Regional. Alabama would likely see opening round games take place in Lexington, Kentucky and then the Midwest Regional (Sweet 16 and Elite 8) would take place in Indianapolis.
The battle between Alabama and Auburn for the No. 1 overall seed will be hotly contested, and more is on the line than just bragging rights. The top seed always gets its preference for region and between the Crimson Tide and Tigers they would both favor the South Regional, with the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 taking place in Atlanta.
Atlanta would be a de facto home environment for both Alabama and Auburn with plenty of fans making the short drive to watch.
Filling out the top four seeds in Alabama's region in the projected bracket was Purdue as the 2-seed (No. 7 overall), Iowa State as the 3-seed (No. 9 overall), and Kansas as the 4-seed (No. 15 overall).
Alabama faced Purdue on the road in non-conference play with the Boilermakers handing the Crimson Tide one of the three losses taken by Oats' squad this season. The Cyclones are the top 3-seed and would be a tough out as well. Facing Bill Self and Kansas in the Sweet 16 would be another challenging matchup for the Crimson Tide.