Crimson Corner: Alabama Basketball Bracketology Update

The No. 11 Crimson Tide is now a 2-seed in most NCAA Tournament projections heading into the final weeks of the regular season

With 21 games under its belt, No. 11 Alabama basketball still remains one of the top projected seeds in the fast-approaching NCAA Tournament.

While the Crimson Tide lost its first SEC game of the season on Saturday afternoon at Missouri, the team rebounded its way in a tight game at South Carolina on Tuesday evening.

Now with a 16-5 overall record and 11-1 in the SEC, Alabama has just six games left separating them from a regular-season SEC title. However, with the struggles it has had as of late with poor shooting combined with a plethora of injuries, it will be no easy contest to finish the season without another loss.

With grad-student forward Jordan Bruner still out for at least another two games, the Crimson Tide has its hands full. Senior wing Herb Jones is still struggling with back pain while redshirt-freshman forward Juwan Gary suffered an injured shoulder on Tuesday night.

Fortunately, several Alabama players have risen to the challenge. Senior forward Alex Reese is playing some of his best basketball of the season from off the bench, playing some crucial minutes on Tuesday following the departure of Gary. After a hot start that turned into a sophomore slump of sorts, guard Jahvon Quinerly is also seeing some improved basketball heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

The one hope is that Alabama's best basketball isn't behind them. In January when the wheels were turning, the Crimson Tide looked like it was one of the best teams in the country. It still does, but there has been a marked decrease in production over the last few weeks. With the return of Bruner finally on the horizon, Alabama is hoping to return to form before the SEC Tournament gets underway in early March.

The latest bracketology experts all have the Crimson Tide as a projected 2-seed. While it's good news that Alabama did not fall far despite its loss to No. 10 Missouri, all three of the experts featured in today's update have the Crimson Tide in No. 1 Gonzaga's region — a team that is still undefeated at 18-0 and is far and away considered to be the best team in the nation.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who previously had Alabama as a 1-seed before its loss to Missouri, now has the Crimson Tide opposite Gonzaga at No. 2 in his bracket. It's a tough region, though, with Alabama having to potentially face 3-seed Texas or 6-seed Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16. If Alabama were to move on to the Elite Eight, it would still have to deal with either Gonzaga, 4-seed Iowa or a solid 5-seed Florida State team.

CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has quite an interesting bracket for the Crimson Tide. Alabama is still opposite 1-seed Gonzaga as a 2-seed, but the addition of 6-seed Florida and 10-seed Western Kentucky makes the Crimson Tide's side of the region interesting. On the opposite side, Gonzaga has to deal with 4-seed Iowa and 5-seed Oklahoma State, both teams that could provide the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide with some issues should they advance.

Finally, NCAA.com's Andy Katz puts 3-seed Iowa, 6-seed Xavier, 7-seed Kansas and 11-seed LSU on Alabama's side of its region. While the Crimson Tide took care of business against LSU on two occasions this season, a potential third matchup in the SEC Tournament and a fourth in the NCAA Tournament would not make things any easier for Alabama. Combine that with Iowa and blue-blood programs Xavier and Kansas, and it's quite the tough draw for the Crimson Tide.

As far as the SEC Tournament is concerned, if the season were to end right now, Alabama would finish at the top of the conference and would have a bye through the first two rounds. According to TeamRankings.com, the Crimson Tide has the highest odds in the conference to win the tournament at 26.31 percent.

In its first round of the SEC Tournament if the season were to end today, Alabama would take on the winner of 8-seed Ole Miss/9-seed Mississippi State — both teams that the Crimson Tide has already beaten this year. Alabama still plays the Bulldogs one more time before the season ends, so that could impact the seeding should Alabama complete the season sweep. That being said, with the conference as even as it is at that level, it wouldn't be surprising to see Georgia or Auburn sneak into that second-round game to try and take a shot at Alabama in the quarterfinal.

All in all, there's still a good bit of basketball left to play. While there are only six games left in Alabama's schedule, Missouri continues to loom within striking distance at second place. Regardless, the Crimson Tide is looking to make an impact on the NCAA Tournament this season, a tournament that it has missed out on since 2018.