Winning the SEC Basketball Regular Season Championship is significant. It remains an important milestone for measuring achievement. The Alabama Crimson Tide has won a couple under Nate Oats in 2021 and 2023. It could win another one this season. Taking the 2025 regular season crown would push Alabama Basketball into a tie for the second-most SEC Regular Season Championships at 12. Alabama and LSU each have 11; Tennessee has 12 and the Kentucky Wildcats have 49.
Winning two in three seasons was huge for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. Alabama had not won the regular season championship since the 2002 season.
This season is different for Alabama Basketball because measuring success will mostly be based on the Crimson Tide's NCAA Tournament record. If Alabama fails to reach another Final Four, an SEC Regular Season Championship would not provide much satisfaction. Winning an SEC 'Double' again would be celebrated and it would inch the Crimson Tide up on Kentucky for SEC Tournament Championships. The Wildcats have 31 to the Crimson Tide's eight.
Another less successful result might be a boost. Last season Alabama had a double bye in the SEC Tournament and was bounced on Friday in a 102-88 loss to the Florida Gators. A Final Four run followed. Did the Crimson Tide benefit from being a fresher team by possibly skipping two hard games in Nashville? Data from 2002 through 2021 shows conference tournament champions don't fare well, with only eight conference tournament champions also winning the NCAA Tournament.
What matters most for Alabama, and every other team with Final Four goals is NCAA Tournament seeding. 1-seeds historically win the NCAA Tournament about five times more often than 2-seeds. Calculated from NCAA Tournaments from 1985-2023, 1-seeds won the championship 64.1% of the time, compared to 2-seeds at 12.8% and 3-seeds at 10.3%. The number for 4-seeds is only 5.1%.
Theoretically, games in November and December count as much for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as do games in March. Conference tournament championships count for automatic bids, and perhaps little more. Again, theoretically, regular season championships count even less.
SEC Basketball Quad 1 Wins
What matters most is racking up Quad 1 wins. Auburn's current Quad 1 count is a stunning 12-1. Alabama is at 6-3, with the Crimson Tide having nine more Quad 1 wins possible in the regular season.
Much basketball is left to play and Alabama's count of Quad 1 wins in its next nine games matters more than a SEC Regular Season Championship. The regular season crown would be great, but maybe just the icing without the cake.