Alabama’s NCAA Tournament Resume at a Glance — February 3
Welcome to what will likely be the final look at Alabama's NCAA Tournament resume for the 2014-15 season.
Even though we're still talking about it in February, the team missed lost out on its postseason chances in January. After two losses last week, the Crimson Tide has now lost five of its past six games and finds itself all but out of the mix for an at-large bid in the tournament.
There are two bright spots this week:
- 1. A difficult January schedule is complete and Alabama has a chance to pile up some wins and build momentum heading into the SEC Tournament.
- 2. Somehow, Anthony Grant's team moved up one spot in the KenPom ratings.
Without any further delay, here's the last look at the Crimson Tide's resume unless they run the table in the month of February.
The Core Numbers
Alabama Record: 13-8 (one win vs non-D1)
- 1 win vs top 50 (Texas A&M)
- 2 wins vs RPI 51-100 (UCLA, Tennessee)
- 1 win vs RPI 101-150 (Arizona State)
- 2 losses outside of the top 50 (South Carolina, Florida)
- No losses outside of top 100
Current Projections
ESPN Bracketology by Joe Lunardi - The SEC keeps improving as a conference as 6 teams are now projected into the tourney. However, Alabama hasn't helped its position and is still not listed among the first eight teams out.
CBSSports.com Projections by Jerry Palm - Losing five of its past six games has moved Alabama from the last team in to not listed at all in Palm's projections.
Current Rankings
Ken Pom - #44 (Last week - #45)
Sagarin - #55 (Last week - #54)
ESPN RPI - #59 (Last week - #46)
Jerry Palm RPI - #62 (Last week - #48)
This Week's Opponents
Home vs Missouri (Wednesday, Feb. 4 @ 8PM, SEC Network)
A National Signing Day nightcap awaits Alabama fans on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide should begin February with a win over a Tigers team that is 1-7 in conference this year.
Away vs LSU (Saturday, Feb. 7 @ 6:00PM, ESPN2)
Alabama's tournament hopes drop to zero if it can't find a way to pull out a win in Baton Rouge. The Tigers (RPI 38) are 16-5 on the season and have only suffered one loss at home.
How Key Non-Conference Opponents are Faring
Iowa State (RPI 11) - Despite a loss to Kansas on Monday night, the Cyclones have almost cracked the top 10 of the RPI. Iowa State has helped keep Alabama's strength of schedule strong.
Wichita State (RPI 13) - The Shockers suffered their first conference loss to Northern Iowa over the weekend but held steady in the RPI rankings.
Xavier (RPI 25) - The Musketeers have finished the past four weeks with a 1-1 record but have climbed into the RPI top 25. Xavier grabbed a big road win at Georgetown this past week.
UCLA (RPI 61) - The Bruins handed Utah just its fourth loss of the season last week before beating Colorado by 13 at home. Credit Steve Alford for turning this team around. A few more big wins and this team could be looking at a tournament birth.
Arizona State (RPI 118) - A one-point loss to Oregon at home on Friday kept the Sun Devils from possibly cracking the top 100. Instead, this team appears to be a good bet to finish the season between 100-140 in the RPI.
*Only top 150 teams will be included in this section.
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