Bracketology Update: Alabama Faces In-State Foe in First Round

The Alabama men's basketball team will have just a few more chances to improve its standing in the eyes of the selection committee for the NCAA tournament. Alabama has one regular season game left - taking on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, March 8. After that, Alabama will have between one and three games in Nashville, Tennessee as the SEC Tournament begins next week. The fate of the Crimson Tide will then sit in the hands of the selection committee to determine where Alabama will fall in the NCAA tournament seeding.

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However, we don't have to wait to speculate where Alabama will play its first round game. ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has the latest projections for the NCAA tournament.

After Alabama fell to Florida on March 5, the Crimson Tide dropped in seeding once again, falling to the second-highest two-seed. If Alabama continues the downward trend, the Tide could continue to fall.

However, the Crimson Tide are still projected as a two-seed in Lunardi's latest bracketology. Alabama is projected in the East Region, with No. 1-seed Duke. The Crimson Tide's first game would come against an in-state foe - the South Alabama Jaguars.

It's a familiar opponent, with the Crimson Tide playing the Jaguars in every season since 2021. Alabama is 5-1 all-time against South Alabama, with the most recent victory coming in the 2023-24 season, where Alabama defeated South Alabama 102-46 in Coleman Coliseum. Mark Sears led the Crimson Tide in scoring that night with 17 points.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.