NCAA Tournament projections: Where will Alabama basketball play in March?

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
·2 min read

Alabama basketball didn't move the needle much last week.

Sure, a 57-point win was plenty impressive, but it was against Vanderbilt. The Commodores sit in the bottom half of the SEC. Then, Alabama went and beat LSU by 10 on the road. Solid, but not going to greatly affect Alabama's NCAA Tournament position in any kind of significant way. A loss would have, but a win doesn't do much.

The next two weeks will be more telling. Alabama has tough road tests against Auburn and Tennessee. But first, the No. 3 Crimson Tide (20-3, 10-0 SEC) will face Florida (13-10, 6-4) on Wednesday (8 p.m., ESPN2) at Coleman Coliseum.

There's plenty of basketball yet to be played, but here's a look at the latest projections from various outlets.

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ESPN: 1 seed (Birmingham)

Joe Lunardi's projection hasn't changed for a bit, even after the Oklahoma loss. That was Alabama's mulligan. Two wins last week didn't change anything for him either. He has the Crimson Tide playing in Birmingham in the opening round against either Southern or Southeast Missouri State in his lastest bracket. The winner would face No. 8-seeded Michigan State or No. 9-seeded Pittsburgh in the second round.

Stadium: 1 seed (Midwest)

This projection doesn't specify location, but Birmingham is to be expected. In this prediction, Alabama would face Maryland Eastern Shore. With a win, the Crimson Tide would face No. 8 seed Clemson or No. 9 seed Northwestern.

CBS Sports: 1 seed (Birmingham)

In Jerry Palm's projection as of Monday, the Crimson Tide remains a No. 1 seed playing in Birmingham. Alabama would play either Southern or Farleigh Dickinson in the first round before a matchup with either No. 8 Pittsburgh or No. 9 Memphis.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: NCAA Tournament projections: Where will Alabama basketball play in March?