Alabama Basketball Receives No. 1 Overall Seed in NCAA Tournament Bracket Preview

The Crimson Tide held strong in the eyes of the selection committee even after falling to Tennessee earlier this week.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The ever-elusive month of March is rapidly approaching, and Alabama basketball looks to be in better position than ever before as the 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament draws near.

On Saturday morning's NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Preview, the selection committee revealed its current top 16 seeds for the upcoming tournament with the Crimson Tide as the No. 1-overall seed.

"The No. 1 team is Alabama, on the strength of 13 wins in Quad 1 and 2," said Division I Men's Basketball Committee chair Chris Reynolds. "They have a very strong resume, and that win at Houston put them over the top.”

The seeding places Alabama in the South Region of the tournament. If things hold, Alabama would play its first two rounds in Birmingham, Alabama at Legacy Arena, and would play the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

The other teams in the South Region with Alabama in the preview were 2-seed Baylor, 3-seed Virginia, and 4-seed Indiana.

Alabama has never received a No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament, but was listed alongside Houston, Purdue, and Kansas atop the four regions roughly three weeks before Selection Sunday.

Unlike the College Football Playoff selection committee, which releases rankings every week starting in November, the committee for men's basketball releases its top-four seed lines just once, in order to give fans and teams alike an idea of where the field stands. 

This tradition started in 2017, and has continued annually since.

The rankings comes just after Alabama fell to Tennessee on the road on Wednesday night. 

However, with Purdue subsequently losing its third straight game, Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney quickly had Alabama back in the top spot. 

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi originally dropped Alabama as well, but moved the Crimson Tide back up to No. 1 on Friday. CBS bracketologist Jerry Palm listed Alabama as the No. 1-overall seed as well.

Alabama is listed as a one-seed in all 91 brackets submitted to Bracket Matrix, a service that allows bracketologists to submit their own brackets and seed lists as the season progresses.

Alabama boasts a 22-4 record on the season, including a 12-1 record in SEC play. The Crimson Tide possesses the fifth-best strength of schedule in the country according to the analytics service KenPom, and has a marquee road victory over AP No. 2 Houston.

KenPom's metrics rank Alabama No. 2 in the country behind Houston. The NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET, ranks Alabama No. 2 as well

Nate Oats' squad has five games remaining in the regular season before the SEC Tournament in early March. For the Crimson Tide to hold its No. 1-overall seed positioning, it will likely need to win both the SEC regular season championship as well as the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

After its loss earlier in the week, it remains unlikely that the AP Poll will keep Alabama at No. 1 in Monday's poll. Even so, the selection committee values the Crimson Tide's resume enough to have it above the rest of college basketball as of Saturday morning.

Alabama's next step in securing that No. 1 overall seed is a home game against Georgia this afternoon. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Top 16 seeds:

1. Alabama

2. Houston

3. Purdue

4. Kansas

5. Texas

6. Arizona

7. Baylor

8. UCLA

9. Tennessee

10. Virginia

11. Iowa State

12. Kansas State

13. Indiana

14. Marquette

15. Gonzaga

16. Xavier

See also:

How Much of a Seedings Hit did Alabama Basketball Take With Loss? All Things CW

Nate Oats Named to Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List

Men's Basketball Lost Against Tennessee, But Gained Valuable Experience