Alabama Basketball's latest Big Dance Bracketology
By Ronald Evans
Three weeks from Selection Sunday signals a need to closely follow Big Dance Bracketology. After Alabama Basketball was trounced by the Kentucky Wildcats there is little downward trending in the Crimson Tide's NCAA Tournament seed position. The Crimson Tide slipped a bit on projected S-Curves but without a major dive.
Selection Sunday is Mar. 17, a few hours after the SEC crowns its SEC Tournament Champion. Three weeks out a least five SEC teams are Big Dance locks. They are the Tennessee Vols and the Alabama Crimson Tide, along with Auburn, Kentucky, and Florida. Also in strong positions are Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Sunday's Jerry Palm Big Dance Bracketology
As of now, Jerry Palm has eight SEC teams making the NCAA Tournament field. Their seeding and projected opponents are listed below.
- Midwest 2-Seed - Tennessee Vols vs. 15-seed Morehead State Eagles in Memphis
- Midwest 5-Seed - Kentucky Wildcats vs. 12-Seed Samford Bulldogs in Pittsburgh
- West 4-Seed - Auburn Tigers vs. 13-Seed McNeese State Cowboys in Brooklyn
- West 6-Seed - South Carolina Gamecocks vs. 11-seed Princeton Tigers in Salt Lake
- South 3-Seed - Alabama Crimson Tide vs. 14-Seed Vermont Catamounts in Charlotte
- South 8-Seed - Florida Gators vs. 9-Seed Nevada Wolfpack in Memphis
- East 9-Seed - Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. 8-Seed Michigan State Spartans in Brooklyn
Jerry Palm has the Ole Miss Rebels as an 11-Seed in a Play-In game in Dayton against 11-Seed Gonzaga.
Only seven SEC teams are in ESPN's Guru Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology. He has the Tennessee Vols as a 2-Seed in the Midwest, the Alabama Crimson Tide as a 3-Seed in the South, and the Auburn Tigers as a 4-Seed in the East. Lunardi's other SEC teams were not detailed in his Sunday morning update. He did include Texas A&M in his First Four Out and Ole Miss in his Next Four Out.
The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program has made the Big Dance 24 times and compiled a record of 25-24.