The SEC basketball world has six solid NCAA Tournament locks. Along with the Alabama Crimson Tide are Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. For several weeks, 10 has been the projected number of SEC teams to make the Big Dance. The number may be slipping to nine, and possibly as few as eight, as the regular season winds down.
Sunday morning, Bracketology from CBS Sports had 11 SEC teams in the Big Dance field. The most shaky spot in 11-seed Missouri tabbed for a play-in game. Other iffy positions are Texas A&M as an 11-seed and Georgia as a 10-seed.
Safe (for now) are Auburn as an 8-seed and Texas as a 9-seed. The SEC's 99.9% locks are Florida (currently a 3-seed), Alabama and Vanderbilt as 4-seeds, Arkansas a 5-seed, along with Tennessee and Kentucky as 6-seeds. ESPN agrees with those six SEC teams being 'lock' projections.
ESPN projects that Texas A&M has more work to do than Auburn. The Aggies' resume has not fully erased a weak non-conference schedule. They, like Auburn, have lost four straight games.
SEC Basketball Computer Range of Rankings
- Florida Gators - No. 4 by Bart Torvik, to KPI No. 11, to No. 15 in Torvik's Wins Above the Bubble (WAB)
- Arkansas Razorbacks - No. 17 by KPom to No. 18 WAB and No. 21 by BPI
- Vanderbilt Commodores - No. 9 KPI to No. 12 WAB, to No. 13 by NCAA NET and BPI
- Alabama Crimson Tide - No. 14 by KPI, to No. 17 WAB and No. 21 in NCAA NET
- Tennessee Vols - No. 12 by BPI, to No. 19 by KPom, and No. 24 WAB
- Auburn Tigers - No. 26 in BPI to No. 34 in NCAA NET to No. 40 WAB
- Texas Longhorns - No. 33 in BPI to No. 37 in NCAA NET to No. 52 by KPI
- Texas A&M Aggies - No. 31 BPI to No. 43 in NCAA NET to No. 47 in WAB
- Georgia Bulldogs - No. 39 in NCAA NET to No. 43 WAB to No. 47 by KPI
- Missouri Tigers - No. 44 in BPI to No. 49 by Torvik to No. 66 in NCAA NET
According to CBS, Alabama Basketball is bracketed in the Midwest Region, opening with 13-seed High Point. The winner would face the winner of Louisville vs. Belmont.