Busting Brackets
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Projecting Alabama Basketball’s path to a 2021 National Championship

By Matthew Travis

Alabama celebrates their 80 to 79 win against LSU as they raise the championship trophy after the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, March 14, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn.Nas Sec Lsu Ala 053
Alabama celebrates their 80 to 79 win against LSU as they raise the championship trophy after the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, March 14, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn.Nas Sec Lsu Ala 053 /
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Alabama Basketball Nas Sec Lsu Ala 057
Alabama Basketball Nas Sec Lsu Ala 057 /

Alabama basketball enters the 2021 NCAA Tournament as the top overall two seed and the fifth-ranked team in the nation. They also enter the tournament with the fifth-best odds to win their first National Championship, as they sit at +1600 according to Bovada.

Alabama’s spot as a two-seed is their highest seeding they have received since 2002 when they were also a two-seed, which ties their program high. This Crimson Tide team may just be the best we’ve ever seen out of Tuscaloosa.

Alabama enters the tournament with a 24-6 record, a 16-2 record in the SEC, and they also enter the tournament with a six-game win streak, three of the six games being in the SEC Tournament which they won for the first time in 30 years.

This Alabama team is hungry to prove that they belong, and they’re also looking to break a record. A team that entered the season unranked and finished the regular season in the top-10, has never made the Final Four that season, there have been 32 teams who have previously fit this description and according to ESPN, 56% of those 32 teams failed to reach the Sweet 16.

Alabama has had the odds stacked against them all year and going into the NCAA Tournament, nothing has changed, but to this point, they’ve shattered all expectations, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t do just that, once again.

Overall, Alabama enters March Madness as the seventh-ranked team in the NET Rankings with a 17-5 record against quadrant one and two teams combined. To put that into perspective for you, here are the one seeds’ records against quadrant one and two opponents:

Gonzaga: 14-0

Baylor: 10-2

Illinois: 17-6

Michigan: 14-4

All that being said, Alabama has competed well against good teams, and their 17-5 record against quadrant one and two opponents proves just that. So with that, there’s no reason to believe that Alabama isn’t capable of making the Final Four, or better yet, winning a National Championship for the first time in program history.

So without further ado, let’s take a look at Alabama’s path to the Final Four, and to a National Championship.

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