Selection Committee Won't Punish Alabama During Seeding Process

The initial seeding process for the men's basketball NCAA tournament took place on Thursday, with media members getting an opportunity to participate in an exercise simulating the selection process that the selection committee will go through to seed the 68 teams for the NCAA tournament, which will officially begin the week of March 16.

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A big conversation for the committee was how they would handle the seeding of the Alabama Crimson Tide after the Tide played center Charles Bediako on a temporary restraining order for five games. Bediako filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking a preliminary injunction to finish out the season with the Crimson Tide. His injunction was denied by a Tuscaloosa Circuit Court judge, and Bediako has not played for Alabama since, although he still is practicing with the team.

During his brief stint on the roster, Alabama went 3-2 during the stretch, with the wins coming over the Missouri Tigers, which is Joe Lunardi's first team out in his latest bracketology, the Texas A&M Aggies, a projected 10-seed, and the Auburn Tigers, a projected eight-seed. With Bediako no longer on the roster, how would the NCAA handle the three victories for the Crimson Tide?

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, NCAA committee chair Keith Gill, the Sun Belt conference commissioner, said the selection committee, "will apply our normal player availability process." That means the NCAA selection committee will not punish Alabama for playing Bediako under the temporary restraining order.

Alabama is currently projected as a five-seed in Lunardi's bracketology.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.