Nate Oats’ Alabama Crimson Tide have won nine of their past 10 games heading into the 2026 SEC Championship Game in Nashville.
Alabama (23-8 overall, 13-5 SEC) led Auburn by 22 points in the first half on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum to become the No. 2 seed in this year’s conference tournament. Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway each scored 21 points to help the Tigers end the regular season with a 96-84 win over the Tigers.
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The Crimson Tide led by 28 points in the second half to win against Auburn for the third straight time. In the Top 25 poll, Alabama moved up one spot to No. 15 in both this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
The latest NCAA Tournament projections from ESPN, CBS Sports and senior analysts Jerry Palm and Andy Katz have the Tide as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, just days away from Selection Sunday.
As for how these metrics reflect Alabama’s dominant victory over Auburn, take a look at where the Crimson Tide ranked in the NET rankings and KenPom ratings before the SEC Tournament.
Alabama basketball holds steady NET rankings ahead of SEC tournament
Alabama is ranked No. 17 in the NET rankings, the same ranking as last week. The Crimson Tide moved up to No. 15 after defeating the Tennessee Volunteers 71-69 in Knoxville on February 28 before losing to the Georgia Bulldogs 98-88 in Athens.
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Alabama has one win in seven Quad games this season: against St. Johns, Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Arkansas and Tennessee. The Crimson Tide defeated LSU 90-83 in Baton Rouge on February 21, but was relegated to the quarterfinals by two wins as LSU fell out of the top 75 in the NET rankings.
Alabama now sits at 9-1 against Quad 2 opponents after Saturday’s win over Auburn in Tuscaloosa.
Here’s a closer look at Tidal’s resume.
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vs. Quad 1 Opponent: 7-7
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Against Quad 2 opponents: 9-1
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vs. Quad 3 opponents: 5-0
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Against Quad 4 opponents: 2-0
Alabama remains one spot below No. 16 Vanderbilt and one spot ahead of No. 18 Arkansas in the NET overall rankings.
KenPom ratings up after Alabama basketball sweeps Auburn in season
In the updated KenPom ratings, Alabama moved up one spot to No. 15 after its win over Auburn.
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The Crimson Tide’s overall KenPom rating rose from +26.03 to +26.15. That includes an offensive rating of 129.8, which ranks third nationally behind Illinois and Purdue. The Tide’s defensive rating of 103.6 ranks 66th nationally, up one spot from last week.
In KenPom’s overall team rating, Alabama is one spot below No. 14 Louisville and one spot ahead of No. 16 Tennessee.
2026 Alabama basketball schedule: Who will the Crimson Tide play in the SEC Championship?
Alabama will play the winner of Thursday’s game between seventh-seeded Georgia and Wednesday’s game between 10th-seeded Texas or 15th-seeded Mississippi State. Georgia will face Texas champion Mississippi State on Thursday.
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With a double bye, the Crimson Tide will kick off the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. The Alabama game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Here’s a game-by-game analysis of Alabama’s 2025-26 schedule.
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Nov. 3: vs. North Dakota State (W, 91-62)
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November 8: In St. John’s (W, 103-96)
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Nov. 13: vs. Purdue (L, 87-80)
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Nov. 19: vs. Illinois (W, 90-86)
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Nov. 24: vs. Gonzaga (L, 95-85)
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Nov. 25: vs. UNLV (women, 115-76)
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Nov. 26: vs. Maryland (women, 105-72)
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Dec. 7: vs. UTSA (W, 97-55)
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Dec. 13: vs. Arizona (L, 96-75)
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Dec. 17: vs. South Florida (W, 104-93)
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Dec. 21: vs. Kennesaw State (W, 92-81)
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Dec. 29: vs. Yale (women, 102-78)
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Jan. 3: vs. Kentucky (women, 89-74)
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January 7: At Vanderbilt (L, 96-90)
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Jan. 10: vs. Texas (L, 92-88)
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Jan. 13: Mississippi State (W, 97-82)
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Jan. 17: At Oklahoma State (W, 83-81)
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Jan. 24: vs. Tennessee (L, 79-73)
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Jan. 27: vs. Missouri (W, 90-64)
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February 1: Florida State (L, 100-77)
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February 4: vs. Texas A&M (W, 100-97)
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February 7: Auburn (W, 96-92)
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February 11: Mississippi State (W, 93-74)
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February 14: vs. South Carolina (women, 89-75)
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February 18: vs. Arkansas (W, 117-115, 2OT)
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February 21: LSU (W, 90-83)
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February 25: vs. Mississippi State (W, 100-75)
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February 28: Tennessee (W, 71-69)
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March 3: Georgia (L, 98-88)
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March 7: vs. Auburn (W, 96-84)
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March 13: Game to be determined, 6 p.m. CT, SEC Network
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama basketball boosts KenPom ratings ahead of SEC tournament
