Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday morning basketball, SEC standings, national rankings and more
By Ronald Evans
There will be no sleeping in for Alabama Basketball on Saturday morning in Baton Rouge. The Crimson Tide and the Bengal Tigers tip off on ESPN at 11:00 AM CST.
Alabama is not close to having a must-win situation on Saturday. Still, any SEC road win is a boost to championship chances. After losing to Auburn on Wednesday night, Alabama has won 10 of its last 12 games. LSU is trending differently. The Bengal Tigers have lost five of their last seven.
The Crimson Tide is in a three-way tie for No. 1 in the SEC, with Auburn and South Carolina. A half game back is Tennessee. Auburn and Tennessee also have road games on Saturday. The Vols will be in College Station and the Aubies travel to Gainesville. South Carolina hosts Vanderbilt.
The Crimson Tide needs a 'bounce-back' performance against LSU, after getting bullied by Auburn. Despite LSU's 12-10 record, they scored 88 points on Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide scored a lot more in what was an easy win, but Nate Oats will demand a better defensive performance in Baton Rouge.
Latest KenPom SEC rankings
There are other good sources for ranking teams, but Ken Pomeroy's calculations are consistently sound.
KenPom No. 4 - Auburn Tigers; No. 6 - Tennessee Vols; No. 7 - Alabama Crimson Tide; No. 24 - Kentucky Wildcats; No. 35 0 Florida Gators; No. 38 - Mississippi State Bulldogs; No. 43 - Texas A&M Aggies; No. 45 - South Carolina Gamecocks; No. 60 - Ole Miss Rebels; No. 82 - Georgia Bulldogs; No. 84 - LSU Bengal Tigers; No. 119 - Arkansas Razorbacks; No. 139 - Missouri Tigers and No. 202 - Vanderbilt Commodores
Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA NET rankings
The NCAA NET rankings have Tennessee at No. 5; Alabama at No. 6 and Auburn at No. 7. The other SEC teams are No. 23 Kentucky; No. No. 39 Florida; No. No. 43 South Carolina; No. 44 Mississippi State; No. 46 Texas A&M; No. 60 Ole Miss; No. 88 Georgia; No. 90 LSU; No. 130 Arkansas; No. 145 Missouri and No. 238 Vanderbilt.
NCAA Tournament Bracketology
The Bracket Project averages over 80 sources of projected NCAA Tournament seed projections. Well-known bracketologists Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm are included, along with lesser-known sources with better track records.
Currently, nine SEC teams are projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field. The Tennessee Vols are a 2-seed. Alabama is a 3-seed; Auburn is a 4-seed; South Carolina is a 5-seed and Kentucky is a 6-seed. More precariously placed in the Big Dance field as 10-seeds are Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State. The Florida Gators are clinging to a projected 11-seed.