Based solely on the results and metrics, Alabama almost has to be regarded as a top 16 team.
The Crimson Tide rank top 12 in all of three of the results-based metrics, they are 8-7 against projected tournament teams and they have yet to suffer a loss to a team presently ranked worse than 28th on KenPom. They also played one of the toughest nonconference schedules out there, which is always a crowd pleaser. And because of it, they are tied with UConn, Florida and Vanderbilt for the seventh-most wins against Quads 1 and 2 (13).
But what is the selection committee going to do about that great big, super public, Charles Bediako asterisk?
This isn’t your standard injury/eligibility situation. Bediako and Nate Oats got a temporary restraining order from a judge—who just so happened to be an Alabama donor—and effectively dared the NCAA to do anything about it.
And while Bediako’s impact for those five games didn’t exactly answer the “What would happen if you put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Valparaiso?” hypothetical, he was most definitely a factor for Alabama in the three-point win over Texas A&M and four-point win over Auburn, logging a combined 41 minutes with 17 points and seven rebounds in those victories.
If Alabama doesn’t appear in the top 16, should we assume the committee disregarded, or at least significantly discounted the wins in which Bediako played?
Will we actually hear from the committee chairman how they are discussing Alabama?
Frankly, this is probably the most important thing we’ll learn from the reveal.