Finally, players are stepping up and making plays at the end of a ballgame. Now we have to win on the road against Mississippi State - a team who is also fighting for a share of the SEC West Championship. Check out Cecil's column in the Tuscaloosa News about how, this time, we didn't let a win slip away.
Regardless of who wins the Ole Miss - Auburn game, the best we'll be able to do is the West's 2nd seed. A loss slaps us in the 4 seed.
Wait...don't let me get ahead of myself.
Days 'til Selection Sunday: 10 Days 'til Spring Practice: 23 Today's RPI: 38
Yup yup yup.
So, anyway... Alabama will either be 2nd in the West, or 4th in the West because of their 4 losses to Arkansas and Auburn. All three teams (Miss St, Ole Miss, and Auburn) have better divisional records than Bama. So lets look at a few scenarios:
As far as the tie-breakers go, Auburn beat Bama twice, State beat Auburn twice, and Ole Miss and State split. State is 6-3 in the division so far, Ole Miss is 5-4, and Auburn is 4-5. This is what the tourney would look like in each scenario:
I would DEFINITELY prefer to be the 2nd seed and play the Tennessee / LSU winner rather than playing Georgia in the first round and then Florida in the next. I would LOVE another shot at Tennessee when it's not on their court. :-)
The RPI moved up a bit today, and will move up drastically with a road win at Mississippi State. The NCAA tournament may not be a lost cause. Beat Tennessee and then play tough with Florida in the tourney and you're golden.
But again...we HAVE TO BEAT STATE FIRST.
¶ 9:02 AM