College Basketball: Even Winning the SEC West, Does Alabama Deserve a Bid?

I must confess, I do not have a PhD in bracketology.

However, looking at Alabama's NCAA tournament resume, they do not look deserving to me.

Proponents for placing the Crimson Tide in the Big Dance keep pointing to their SEC West regular season title.

At first blush, that may sound convincing when you think of finishing first place in a division that includes Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU, but this is not your father's SEC West.

Here is a little bit of bracket-analogy. Start with the RPI's of the teams in the SEC West:

• Alabama: 79
• Ole Miss: 81
• Mississippi State: 112
• Arkansas: 120
• LSU: 219
• Auburn: 254

Now, let's bracket the team immediately in front of and in back of those teams, and make an analogy:

• Nebraska
• Long Island
• Bucknell
• St. Bonaventure
• Northern Colorado
• Utah
• Boise State
• Mercer
• Georgia State
• Fordham
• Bryant

It can be said that you are judged by the company you keep. These teams are the company the SEC West keeps this year.

Take an honest look at those teams. Do you really think the winner of that league is deserving of an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament? 

I didn't think so. What say you?