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

Updated bracket projections for the Crimson Tide and five things that got our attention this week:

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 5

All indications are that Alabama's time atop the polls may be a short one following the Crimson Tide's loss at Tennessee, but otherwise the impact will be minimal in terms of postseason status and seeding. 

After all, the Volunteers were favored to win at home, plus the chances of getting an officiating crew that would allow that kind of physical play on a neutral floor aren't very good — although yes, it could happen. 

Alabama coach Nate Oats started laying the groundwork for that by saying Friday that freshman forward Brandon Miller is "getting fouled off the ball more than anyone in college basketball this year." The Crimson Tide already knows what's coming the rest of the season because the word is out that maybe the only way to have success against Alabama is be physical and force turnovers. 

Few teams have the ability to do so at the same level Tennessee did, but regardless the type of teams that end up in Alabama's side of its brackets may be a lot more important than the Crimson Tide's seeding in either the SEC Tournament or March Madness. 

As a final footnote, one has to think the Crimson Tide would love another shot at the Volunteers away from the Tennessee campus. A rematch in the SEC Tournament would still be in the Volunteer State, but at least not in Knoxville. 

Overall, the bad news from the Tennessee loss is that Alabama squandered a chance to essentially lock up the SEC regular season title. The lead atop the standings over Texas A&M is down to one game (12-1 compared to 11-2) and the teams will close the regular season against each other in College Station on March 4. 

Here's how the SEC Tournament projects heading into this weekend:

Projected SEC Tournament Pairings

March 8

Game 1: No. 12 seed vs. No. 13 seed; Ole Miss vs. LSU
Game 2: No. 11 seed vs. No. 14 seed; Georgia vs. South Carolina

March 9

Game 3: No. 9 seed vs. No. 8 seed; Arkansas vs. Florida 
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 5 seed; Kentucky
Game 5: No. 10 seed vs. No. 7 seed; Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 6 seed; Missouri

March 10

Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 1 seed; Alabama
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 4 seed; Auburn
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 2 seed; Texas A&M
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 3 seed; Tennessee

March 11: Semifinals

March 12: Championship 

As for March Madness, with Purdue losing it's third-straight game Thursday night, both Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney  and ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Alabama back as the tournament's top-overall seed, and No. 1 in the South Regional, on Friday.  

NCAA Net and KenPom rankings still had Houston at No. 1 and Alabama second but the Crimson Tide has both a huge strength of schedule and head-to-head advantages.   

The NCAA tournament selection committee will release its current top teams Saturday afternoon, which will give insight into what it highly values this season. 

5 Things That Got Our Attention This Week 

This will have a very strong "Did you know" Crimson Tide feel to it:

1) Collin Sexton will be part of NBA All-Star Weekend as part of Team Jazz for the 2023 Skills Challenge. He, along with Jazz teammates Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler will be up against a team of rookies (Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey and Jabari Smith Jr.) and Team Antetokoumpo (Giannis, Thanasis and Alex, who plays in the G League). Saturday's event will begin at 7 p.m. CT. (TNT) at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City,

2) Dr. LeNá Powe McDonald was named Associate Commissioner for Academic Relations for the Southeastern Conference. She had been Alabama's Director of Internal Affairs and UA System Liaison since 2019. "We are excited to have Dr. LeNá McDonald join the Southeastern Conference staff in the critical role of supporting and promoting programs and activities designed to highlight the teaching, research and service accomplishments of students, faculty and staff in the SEC," commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "Dr. McDonald is uniquely qualified to lead our efforts to highlight the endeavors and achievements of the SEC's world-class universities."

3) Did you know that former Crimson Tide running back Josh Jacobs is a member of a small group of Filipino Americans in the NFL? "It's definitely big, man," Jacobs said at the Pro Bowl, per Steve Angeles of TFC News Las Vegas. "I mean, just because my grandma growing up and my dad kept us along with the culture out there and let us understand where we come from and things like that. So with not a lot of us in professional sports and things like that, it's good to be a prominent advocate for who we are and what we believe in, so that's dope." Jacobs and Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers were the only Filipino American representatives at this year's Pro Bowl.

4) The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and NCAA announced the activation of three adaptive sport programming initiatives to be implemented across the Women's Basketball Final Four, Drake Relays and ITA Fall National Championships, with exhibitions held at all three events. Not only will Crimson Tide adaptive athletics be involved, but athletic director Greg Byrne is part of the implementation team to analyze the impact of the Para-College Inclusion Project in the fall of 2023.

5) Yes, Byrne is still on the selection committee for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, but he has to leave the room whenever the Crimson Tide is discussed. His term doesn't end until 2026.  

See Also:

Take 1: With Alabama Basketball No. 1, Nate Oats Should Lean on Nick Saban Even More

Take 2: Alabama Basketball Doesn't Have to Look Far For Motivation

Take 3: 2023 Will Be the Year of Scapegoat Coordinators in SEC

Take 4: After 50-Plus Years in Football, John Mitchell's Legacy Immeasurable