Disappointment fuels Alabama basketball's drive. Snubbed from the top 16, the Crimson Tide eye March wins to secure their tournament destiny.
With Selection Sunday less than a month away, the NCAA Tournament picture is beginning to sharpen, and for Alabama basketball, the latest reveal delivered both disappointment and motivation.
On Saturday, the NCAA selection committee released its current top 16 teams, the programs projected to earn the coveted No. 1 through No. 4 seeds in the 68-team field.
Alabama was not included.
However, the Crimson Tide weren’t far off.
Committee chairman Keith Gill made it clear that Alabama was among the first teams on the outside looking in, essentially sitting just beyond the No. 4 seed line. Arkansas joined the Tide in that same category, highlighting just how razor-thin the margins are at this stage of the season.
One factor the committee evaluated closely was Alabama’s stretch with center Charles Bediako available. Bediako’s eligibility saga has been a storyline all season, forcing the Tide to adjust rotations, defensive schemes, and interior presence on the fly. According to Gill, Alabama went 3-2 in the games Bediako played and 16-5 without him.
Still, the committee chose not to weigh that split heavily.
Gill emphasized that “player availability” has been one of the most complex issues in constructing this year’s bracket.
That term goes beyond traditional injuries and includes suspensions, eligibility issues, and other factors that keep players off the floor.
In Alabama’s case, the committee did not view Bediako’s absence as dramatically altering the team’s overall résumé compared to other programs dealing with roster instability.
Despite being left out of the committee’s top 16 snapshot, national bracket projections remain favorable. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports both currently slot Alabama as a No. 4 seed, a position that would still place the Tide among the tournament’s top contenders and safely inside the field.
The bigger picture is simple: nothing is decided yet.
Conference tournaments loom, signature wins remain available, and teams can rise or fall dramatically in the final weeks.
Alabama has already proven it can beat high-level competition, even while navigating injuries and lineup changes.
If Nate Oats’ squad finishes strong down the stretch, there is still a clear path to climbing back into that protected seed territory.
For a program built on toughness and resilience, being overlooked might not be the worst thing.
In fact, it could be exactly the fuel Alabama basketball needs heading into March, when reputations matter far less than results on the floor.