'Talk of the Town' applies to Alabama Basketball

Something different is going on in the college basketball world. Different in many ways but especially different for Alabama basketball fans. Never before in the history of Alabama Hoops has the Crimson Tide been the team to beat for the next national championship.

Alabama is that team today but don't just take my word for it. Joey Brackets' (Joe Lunardi) 5/31 Bracketology is out. The opening paragraph in which Lunardi discusses the current state of college basketball begins "Alabama is the talk of the town ..."

Lunardi adds that the Crimson Tide can become a 1-seed next March. Currently, he has Alabama as the top 2-seed in next year's Big Dance. Lunardi also has the Crimson Tide as an auto-qualifier as the projected SEC Champion. In Lunardi's latest projection, with 11 teams each, the SEC and the Big Ten are projected to land a total of 22 teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Alabama Basketball and SEC - Lunardi Bracketology

• Top 2-seed, Alabama Crimson Tide - Lunardi has Bama in the South Region, playing in Rupp Arena, along with Clemson, Michigan, and Purdue -Fort Wayne

• 2-seed, Auburn Tigers

• 4-seed, Tennessee Vols

• 5-seeds, Texas Longhorns and the Arkansas Razorbacks

• 6-seed, Texas A&M Aggies

• 7-seeds, Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats

• 8-seed, Ole Miss Rebels

• 9-seed, Florida Gators

• 11-seed, Missouri Tigers

In the latest ESPN bracket are three of Alabama's non-conference opponents: 3-seed Creighton, 4-seed Purdue, and 10-seed Illinois.

Jon Rothstein's latest Top 45 has the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 1. Per Rothstein's current calculation, defending National Champion UConn is college basketball's No. 6 team. Rothstein has 11 SEC basketball teams in the top 42 of his current rankings.

Not close behind, but closest to the Crimson Tide among SEC teams are the Auburn Tigers at No. 11, the Texas A&M Aggies at No. 12, and the Arkansas Razorbacks at No. 14. Further back are Florida (No. 19), Tennessee (No. 22), Ole Miss (No. 26), Kentucky (No. 29), Texas (No. 33), Mississippi State (No. 34) and Georgia (No. 42).

Preseason rankings bring no guarantees, but early, highly ranked teams are often highly ranked teams late in the season when it matters.