Alabama Crimson Tide: NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch

Mar 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Braxton Key (25) knocks the ball from Kentucky Wildcats guard De'Aaron Fox (0) during the first half during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Braxton Key (25) knocks the ball from Kentucky Wildcats guard De'Aaron Fox (0) during the first half during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Alabama Crimson Tide are on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, but things are looking up after the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

Related: Georgia Bulldogs on the Bubble

The Kentucky Wildcats knocked off the Alabama Crimson Tide 79-74 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

So while they’re not going to be an automatic qualifier, there is still hope that the committee will call the Crimson Tide’s name tomorrow on Selection Sunday.

Alabama is currently not listed in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, and with Lunardi’s track record, that’s not a good sign.

Mar 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard De’Aaron Fox (0) is fouled by Alabama Crimson Tide forward Braxton Key (25) during the second half during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky won 79-74. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard De’Aaron Fox (0) is fouled by Alabama Crimson Tide forward Braxton Key (25) during the second half during the SEC Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky won 79-74. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Case Against Alabama

The Crimson Tide are 19-14 and rank no. 75 in the RPI (rankings power index). They have the no. 83 SOS (strength of schedule) in the country. Alabama went 4-6 against RPI Top 50 teams, and while four wins is solid, playing 10 games against top 50 teams is not that impressive.

And those four wins came against Vanderbilt (37), South Carolina (44) twice, and Georgia (49).

Even less impressive is Alabama’s non-conference schedule. Their non-conference SOS was no. 97. The Crimson Tide went 9-5 in non-conference play, but four of those losses came against RPI Top 100 teams (Oregon-7, Dayton-27, Clemson-68, Valparaiso-72).

Alabama’s only non-conference win over a RPI Top 150 team was against Arkansas State (118).

The NCAA Tournament committee tends to reward teams who schedule tough non-conference games, and Alabama didn’t do that this season.

Case For Alabama

While Alabama did lose three of the final four games of the regular season, they did pick up some momentum in the SEC Tournament.

The Crimson Tide blew out Mississippi State 75-55  in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Then they turned around and beat South Carolina 64-53 in the SEC quarterfinals.

That was their second win over the Gamecocks this seasons, and two wins over the fourth-best team in the conference could improve Alabama’s cause.

Alabama also played Kentucky tough in the semifinals. They trailed the Wildcats by two points with just over three minutes remaining, but Kentucky was able to pull away in the end.

They have the top scoring defense in the SEC, allowing 64.1 points per game, which also ranks 25th in the nation.

Prediction: OUT

Alabama is a quality team, but ultimately they did not play enough good teams to get into the Big Dance.