Alabama earns No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament

Alabama players pose with the trophy after an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Sunday,…

Alabama players pose with the trophy after an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 82-63. (AP Photo/John Amis)

by: Isaac Goffin

Posted: Mar 12, 2023 / 05:08 PM CDT

Updated: Mar 12, 2023 / 06:01 PM CDT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama men’s basketball team earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson Tide will play in the first round of the South Region at Legacy Arena in Birmingham on Thursday against either No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or Southeast Missouri State. If Alabama wins in the first round, it will face either No. 8 seed Maryland or No. 9 seed West Virginia.

Before being recognized with a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance on Sunday, Alabama won the SEC Tournament championship by defeating Texas A&M, 82-63, in Nashville, Tennessee. The Crimson Tide is 29-5 and ranked No. 4 in the latest AP Poll. Alabama won the SEC regular-season title on March 1 after defeating Auburn.

The Crimson Tide’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance marks the third time the program has made it to the Big Dance since naming Nate Oats head coach in March 2019. Alabama advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2021 and fell in the first round last season. The furthest Alabama’s progressed in the tournament is the Elite Eight in 2004. The Crimson Tide has now made the tournament 23 times, but this is the first time it is a No. 1 seed.