What is Alabama's Ideal Draw in SEC Tournament? Just a Minute

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral assistant editor Katie Windham discusses Alabama basketball's ideal draw in the SEC tournament.

Alabama basketball has already locked up a top-four seed and double bye in the SEC tournament. A win over Auburn on Saturday (or Arkansas loss to Missouri) would solidify the 2-seed for the Crimson Tide.

Florida eliminated Alabama from the SEC tournament each of the last two seasons. The most important think for Alabama given its struggles against Florida over the last three seasons, is staying on the other side of the bracket from the Gators. That is secured for the Crimson Tide with Florida being the 1-seed and Alabama the 2 or 3. The Crimson Tide's best possibility of winning a third SEC tournament title under Nate Oats would be never having to face Florida at all, hoping someone upsets the Gators in the quarterfinals or semifinals.

But what about the path to get to championship Sunday? There are currently four teams (Missouri, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Kentucky) at 10-7 in SEC play with Georgia and Texas both at 9-8, so a lot of movement in the standings will happen based on Saturday's results in the regular season finales.

Because Arkansas has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Tennessee, the Razorbacks will be on the same side of the bracket as Alabama regardless of what happens on Saturday.

I don't care how badly Alabama beat them during the regular season or in last year's SEC tournament, but drawing the Kentucky Wildcats in the postseason is never "ideal" for any team simply for the fact that at least 80 percent of the crowd will be Big Blue Nation.

The bottom quarter of the league consisting of Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU and South Carolina would obviously be the most ideal teams to play first, but the odds of any of those teams advancing to the quarterfinals are pretty small.

Alabama only has five SEC losses this season. The Crimson Tide will want revenge on all five of those teams, but only three are first-game possibilities: Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas. Any of those opponents would be a good draw for the Tide before having to face Arkansas in the semis.