Bubba Cunningham reveals how close Alabama is to unanimous No. 1 Auburn in initial selection committee top 16

Auburn and Alabama were revealed as the No. 1 and No. 2 overall seeds during Saturday’s first NCAA Tournament top-16 seed reveal.

On the same day that the seedings were revealed, the Tigers and Crimson Tide are set to do battle in Tuscaloosa in the biggest blockbuster matchup of the regular season. However, if Alabama were to emerge victorious in the head-to-head battle — how much would that affect the seedings?

“I don’t think any single game is going to make the difference,” NCAA Tournament chair Bubba Cunningham said Saturday on CBS. “Right now, we did have Auburn as a unanimous choice, so, yeah, Alabama — they’re going to play two more times. Alabama’s schedule that they have in front of them is absolutely incredible. So, the next month will really determine who’s going to get the number one overall seed.”

Cunningham labeling Auburn as the “unanimous” No. 1 seed breeds the belief that Alabama is a clear No. 2 in the eyes of the selection committee.

With Saturday’s game still to be played, and a second regular season matchup slated for March 8, there is a possibility of these two teams meeting in the SEC Tournament finals if they remain 1-2 in the conference standings or even a fourth time in the NCAA Tournament.

One downside for Alabama even if they do defeat Auburn in Tuscaloosa — the Crimson Tide will play a ranked team in every game for the rest of the regular season. After Saturday, they’ll play at No. 21 Missouri, vs. No. 15 Kentucky and vs. No. 22 Mississippi State to round out the month. They’ll play a three-game stretch in March at No. 5 Tennessee, vs. No. 3 Florida before finishing the regular season at No. 1 Auburn.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats called it a “gauntlet” during his appearance on ESPN College GameDay on Saturday.

For the Tigers, they don’t have it easier, either. After Saturday, their next two games are at home against unranked Arkansas and Georgia. The final four games of the season are all against ranked opponents.

Joining Auburn and Alabama on the 1-seed line are both Duke and Florida. The SEC not only features three of the four 1-seeds but has both Tennessee and Texas A&M as 2-seeds as of Saturday, as well as Kentucky as a 3-seed.

All of these teams will be in action on Saturday, which means that these rankings will only be shaken up further by the end of the weekend slate. The final rankings will be revealed on Sunday. March 18 following the conclusion of all conference tournaments.