Alabama women’s basketball suffers disappointing and costly loss in SEC Tournament
Alabama women’s basketball entered the SEC Tournament as a projected 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme. A win over Florida, a team it beat twice in the regular season by a combined 28 points, would probably be enough to clinch a 4-seed regardless of what happened on Friday and beyond.
Why is that important? Because as a 4-seed or better, you get to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, something that could be vital for a Crimson Tide team that is looking to make the second weekend of the tournament for the first time in 26 years.
Now, that seed line is in real jeopardy following a stunning defeat in Greenville. 11-seeded Florida knocked off 6-seeded Alabama 63-61. The Crimson Tide entered the evening as 13.5-point favorites.
Kristy Curry and the Crimson Tide had no answer for star Gators freshman Liv McGill, who led all scorers with 29 points. Florida’s defense frustrated Alabama. The Tide shot just 33.9% from the floor and 28.6% from three. One of this team’s greatest strengths is its three-point shooting. They entered Thursday night’s matchup shooting 39% on the season.
Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 24 points and did everything she could to put the team on her back, almost leading a miraculous comeback down the stretch, but she had a last-second shot blocked that would have tied the game.
A costly defeat for Alabama women’s basketball
This loss puts Alabama’s status for Selection Sunday up in the air. No, they’re not a bubble team, but hanging on to a 4-seed is far from a certainty following a loss to a mediocre team at a neutral site.
In ESPN’s latest bracketology, the 5-seeds behind Alabama were Maryland, Baylor, Tennessee, and Ohio State.
You can safely assume the Vols didn’t improve their standing with a loss to Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, though the Vols do have the head-to-head win over the Crimson Tide and are ranked higher in the NET Rankings (Tennessee is 13, Alabama is 15).
Maryland and Ohio State are still playing. Both had double byes in the Big Ten Tournament and will be in action on Friday. Baylor also had a double bye in the Big 12 Tournament and will play on Friday against Iowa State.
Ole Miss, North Carolina, and Kansas State were the other three 4-seeds in the bracket projection. All three of those teams won on Friday, meaning the only 4-seed on the ropes is Alabama.
A disappointing performance by the Crimson Tide against Florida has left it out of their hands. They’ll have to sit back and wait and see on Sunday where they ultimately end up. If they fall a seed line, they’ll have this clunker against the Gators to blame.
