Where Alabama Basketball Ranks in the AP Poll Ahead of SEC Tournament
For the third-straight week, the Alabama men's basketball team split its two games, as on March 5 the Crimson Tide fell to Florida 105-87 and on March 9 it defeated Arkansas 92-88 in overtime in the regular season finale.
This inconsistency has lowered the Tide's ranking each week and it did so once again as Alabama was placed at the No. 19 spot in Monday's AP Poll.
Nevertheless, this is the last time this season that the Crimson Tide will be associated with a double-digit number, as Alabama is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament and will all but certainly be a top-6 seed in March Madness.
The Crimson Tide finished the regular season with a 13-5 league record and a 21-10 record overall, securing the 3-seed in the SEC Tournament. Alabama tied with Kentucky, Auburn and South Carolina with a 13-5 record, with tiebreakers determining the final order of seeding.
The top four teams in the standings earned a double-bye to Friday's quarterfinal round, while the next eight teams earned a bye to the second round. Only the bottom four teams in the league standings have to play on Wednesday night's opening round.
As the 3-seed, Alabama will take on one of 6-seed Florida, 11-seed Georgia and 14-seed Vanderbilt on Friday night of the tournament. Games earlier in the tournament will determine the Crimson Tide's opponent. Alabama's quarterfinal game will tip off roughly around 8:30 p.m. CT as the second game of the second session on Friday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
If Alabama were to win and advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, it would play at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Sunday's championship game has an 11 a.m. CT tip-off time, also on ESPN.
Final Regular Season AP Top 25
- Houston, 28-3
- UConn, 28-3
- Purdue, 28-3
- North Carolina, 25-6
- Tennessee, 24-7
- Arizona, 24-7
- Iowa State, 24-7
- Creighton, 23-8
- Kentucky, 23-8
- Marquette, 23-8
- Duke, 24-7
- Auburn, 24-7
- Illinois, 23-8
- Baylor, 22-9
- South Carolina, 25-6
- Kansas, 22-9
- Gonzaga, 24-6
- Utah State, 26-5
- Alabama, 21-10
- BYU, 22-9
- Saint Mary's, 24-7
- Washington State, 23-8
- Nevada, 26-6
- Dayton, 24-6
- Texas Tech, 22-9
Other receiving votes: Boise St. 46, South Florida 27, San Diego St. 21, Drake 16, Texas 14, James Madison 14, FAU 11, Florida 8, Princeton 7, Nebraska 6, New Mexico 4, Colorado 2, McNeese St. 2, Colorado St. 1, Wake Forest 1, Indiana St 1.
