It is far, far too early to try and predict the 2026 NCAA Tournament field. It's also too early to worry about where your team is positioned. Because it doesn't matter with no games played and still several months before the season even starts.
But Joe Lunardi took the time to make a bracket, so we're going to take the time to talk about it. It's the offseason for both football and basketball, after all.
With Alabama's roster set following Labaron Philon's unexpected return, a late commit from 4-star center Collins Onyejiaka, and Latrell Wrightsell officially receiving his medical redshirt, the Crimson Tide looks capable of being a legitimate SEC contender.
Despite that, Alabama is still flying under the radar. And that'll be just fine for Oats. He probably likes it better that way. He knows what he has in Tuscaloosa, whether any pundits see it yet or not.
Alabama is a 5-seed in Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology
If Alabama lands as a 5-seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament as projected by Joe Lunardi, it would be the lowest the Crimson Tide has been seeded since they were a 6-seed in the 2022 tournament.
In Alabama's impressive three-year run from 2023-25, they have been a 1-seed, 4-seed, and 2-seed. During that time, the Crimson Tide has been to back-to-back-to-back Sweet 16s, two straight Elite 8s, and the 2024 Final Four.
The draw Lunardi has for Alabama is a who's who of former Tide NCAA Tournament opponents. In the first-round, Alabama is slated to face off with 12-seed Grand Canyon. Alabama defeated Grand Canyon in the second-round of the 2024 Big Dance, en route to the first Final Four in program history.
The second-round would see Alabama in a hypothetical matchup with UCLA. The Bruins knocked out the Tide in the Sweet 16 back in 2021.
Making it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year would, in Lunardi's projection, likely lead to a rematch against Duke in the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils knocked the Tide out in the 2025 Elite Eight.
Of course, that scenario is purely hypothetical. What isn't hypothetical is that Oats has built a very good roster once again. With Philon back to lead the show, and flanked with elite shooters, and lengthy defenders, the 2025-26 Crimson Tide has the ceiling to be even better than the last couple of seasons.
This is an Oats roster through and through. A 5-seed wouldn't be seen as a disappointment next season, but it's also far short of the potential of this roster.