Avery Johnson explains why Alabama deserves an NCAA Tournament bid
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team is playing well this year, and the Tide seem to bring their best against top opponents.
In fact, coach Avery Johnson’s squad has won five-straight games against AP top-25 teams, including a 78-50 beatdown of Tennessee on Saturday night.
As we get closer to Selection Sunday, Johnson made the case that the Tide deserve a spot in the NCAA Tournament (via 247Sports):
“I think it’s a rewards-driven system,” Johnson said Monday. “I think you should be rewarded if you have that type of record against top-25 teams. I think you should be rewarded if you challenge yourself with your non-conference schedule.
“That’s a decision that’s at the hands of every basketball team in the country. We weren’t afraid to challenge ourselves in the non-conference, even if we did come up short.
“And I think if people are analyzing teams’ resumes, the easiest thing to do — and I know bad news travels fast — is to look at maybe some perceived loss and say, ‘Well, they should’ve won that game.’ Alright, well let’s go to the other side and look at the top-25 wins, and our record speaks for itself, that we are capable of getting it done.”
The Tide just have to keep winning and they’ll make it to the tourney, as they have an impressive resume at this point.
Currently, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has Alabama projected as a No. 7 seed in the tournament, so the Tide are in good shape as things stand now.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
