Alabama's Updated Bracket Projections and 5 Things That Turned My Head This Week: All Things CW

The closer the postseason gets, the more the top of college basketball keeps changing around the Crimson Tide.

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

The Alabama Crimson Tide only has seven regular-season games remaining, and even if it stumbles and gets swept at Auburn and Tennessee over the next fews days it would still be at least tied for the lead in the Southeastern Conference. 

Alabama is 11-0 in SEC play for the second time in program history (in 1955-56 it finished with a 14-0 record). The 21-3 overall record matches the program’s best-ever record through 24 games, and first since the 1975-76 season.

But the real question is whether the Crimson Tide can secure its first No. 1 seeding in the NCAA Tournament. 

Sports Illustrated’s most recent view of the field has Alabama as the top team in the Midwest Regional, which seems to be the consensus projection heading into this weekend. 

The NCAA's latest NET rankings have the Crimson Tide at No. 2 overall, behind Houston, which is also how KenPom has it, although with UCLA at No. 3. 

As for the SEC Tournament, which will be played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from March 8-12, Texas A&M is playing its way into a top-four seeding, and Arkansas working its way up the standings. 

Here's how the bracket is on target to look:

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

March 10

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

March 11

Semifinals

March 12

Championship 

5 Things That Turned My Head This Week 

• We really need a nickname for the room of analysts for Alabama football, something like "The Bullpen," although Nick Saban has more guys in there than a Major League Baseball team has relievers. Although there's been little turnover on the coaching staff outside of the coordinators this offseason, the same cant be said of the analysts (although that's pretty normal). Already on the roster for 2023 season are former Crimson Tide walk-on Jake Long, and Max Bullough, who was promoted from graduate assistant. The departures, so far, include Dave Huxtable (Atlanta Falcons), Todd Grantham (New Orleans Saints), Alex Mortensen (offensive coordinator UAB), Cornelius Williams (wide receivers coach, New Mexico) and Will Lawing (New England Patriots, following Bill O'Brien). The rest of the room includes Dean Altobelli, Bert Biffani, George Banko, Nick Cochran, Zach Mettenberger, Nick McGriff, Derek Dooley, Jamey Mosley and Ryan Finck. 

• Kudos to Josh Jacobs being the first recipient of the Jim Brown Award, which goes to the NFL's rushing leader each season. The announcement of the new honor was one of those things that makes you wonder, "Why didn't they have that before?"  Jacobs called it a "true honor" in a statement. "Jim's excellence on the football field was unparalleled and his role as a leader off the field showed his unwavering strength and commitment to the community. Jim's impact can be felt today and his legacy continues through everyone that strives to make a difference. I am beyond proud to receive an award named for such a great man."

• Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie saying that Jalen Hurts has nothing to prove may have been one of the few times anyone's said that about the quarterback, at least publicly. Here's how good he's been, Hurts is just the third quarterback ever with 3,500-plus passing yards (3,701), 20-plus touchdown passes (22) and 10 or more rushing touchdowns (13) in single season. He's also the first quarterback to have 10-plus rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons.  

• Here's a good example of how statistics don't tell the story until you put them together. Hurts has 15 rushing touchdowns the most in a single season by a quarterback in NFL history – and Eagles running back Miles Sanders has 13. They're the first teammate duo each with at least 13 rushing touchdowns in a single season in NFL history, including the postseason. Meanwhile, wide receivers A.J. Brown (88 receptions for 1,496 yards) and DeVonta Smith (95 receptions for 1,196 yards) became the first duo in Philadelphia franchise history with at least 1,000 receiving yards during a regular season. They could join the 2006 Colt (Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne as the only teams with two players each with at least 80 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in the regular season and win the Super Bowl in the same year. That kind of balance, which requires some serious unselfishness and buy-in, is unheard of in the NFL. 

• Former offensive coordinator Mike Locksley's supposed outrage over Nick Saban's comments about telling Hurts to transfer to Oklahoma instead of Maryland or Miami were surprising because it wasn't anything new. The Sooners were poised to make a playoff run and just need a quarterback. "We had a conversation. [Hurts] wanted to graduate from Alabama, so he wasn't going to transfer until he graduated," Saban said. "I said 'You need to work on becoming a better passer. You can't just make plays with your feet. So this whole season, I want you to focus in practice on reading coverages, understanding the passing game better, and being able to read and dissect what you need to do quickly'... And his diligence in doing that on a daily basis—he wouldn't take off in practice, he made himself stand in the pocket and learn how to do that." The guess here is that what Locksley really took exception to was Saban saying "They got the best coach to develop you as a quarterback," meaning Lincoln Riley. Locksley still did well by Alabama, though, as Taulia Tagovailoa ended up at Maryland and has set numerous schools records. 

• Bonus: Here's what I really want to know: If the Eagles win the Super Bowl how will Landon Dickerson celebrate? 

See Also:

Take 1: Nick Saban Still Got What He Wanted With Alabama's New Coordinators

Take 2: Does Balanced Field of Title Contenders Help Alabama Basketball?

Take 3: Why the Draft Stock of an Alabama Player is Rising After Senior Bowl

Take 4: Give DeVonta Smith His Due as Wide Receiver Continues to Silence Critics