Why you shouldn't expect the NCAA Tournament selection committee to punish Alabama for playing Charles Bediako
Bediako played five games for the Crimson Tide before being ruled ineligible. What impact will that unusual midseason stint have on Alabama's NCAA Tournament resume and the rest of the SEC?
By
David Cobb
•
5 min read
The day before Charles Bediako returned to uniform for a five-game joyride with Alabama, the Crimson Tide slotted in as a No. 5 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology. Now that the 23-year old center's trip down memory lane has been legally put to an end by a circuit judge, the Crimson Tide are a projected No. 4 seed.
Will they get credit come Selection Sunday for the games in which Bediako appeared? Let's dive into a key part of the fallout from this season's headline eligibility crisis.
As an NCAA official told CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Alabama will be evaluated by the roster it has available for March. If you think that means Alabama's results with Bediako will be viewed as forfeits or with massive asterisks that lead to a significant impact on their seeding, think again.
The selection committee's job isn't to go on a vigilante crusade against individual programs. If the NCAA as an organization wants to try and sanction the Crimson Tide for flouting its rules and playing Bediako, that's a different conversation that would fall outside the committee's purview.
It's also worth noting that Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is on the selection committee, although bracketing principles mandate his recusal during any discussion about the selection or seeding of the Crimson Tide.
The committee's job is to evaluate teams on Selection Sunday based on the players they'll have available for the NCAA Tournament. Unless this group of athletic directors and conference commissioners goes rogue and chooses to grab the scepter of justice while Byrne is literally standing outside the door waiting to be admitted back into the room, we should expect the committee to treat Bediako's brief time with the Crimson Tide similarly to how it would treat an injury for any other team.
Let's do the same and see where it takes us.
How Charles Bediako impacted Alabama
During Bediako's five-game stint, Alabama went 3-2. Those three victories came against projected NCAA Tournament teams, and Bediako logged significant playing time. The minutes he played in wins that bolstered Bama's resume are undeniable. It was 18 minutes in a 90-64 beatdown of Missouri, 19 in a 100-97 win over Texas A&M and 22 in a 96-92 win at rival Auburn this past Saturday.
But the impact Bediako truly had? It's something the selection committee may need to address when it weighs Alabama's resume.
In Alabama's five SEC games pre-Bediako, it went 3-2 and rated as the No. 31 most-efficient team in the nation, according to barttorvik.com. During Alabama's five games with Bediako, the Crimson Tide finished 3-2 while rating as the 29th most-efficient team in the nation, according to barttorvik.com.
Interpretation: Alabama was marginally better with Bediako.
If you drill down deeper and look at Bediako's specific impact, here's what you'll find:
Among Alabama players who have logged at least 200 possessions this year, he ranks fifth on the team in evanmiya.com's BPR metric, which is described as "the ultimate measure of a player's overall value to his team when he is on the floor."
Bediako provided solid rim protection with 1.4 blocks in 21.6 minutes per game, and proved to be a lethal lob threat while shooting 77.3% from the floor. But there is no hard evidence that Bediako's brief return to college basketball had a profound impact on the Crimson Tide's resume.
In fact, Bediako posted a -9 +/- rating against Texas A&M and a -7 +/- against Auburn, which were Alabama's two tight victories during Bediako's time in uniform. Looking at +/- to judge a player's worth can be tricky. But in this case, it suggests Bediako was not the difference-maker in a pair of close Bama victories.
The opponent's perspective
The absence of a solid role player who appeared in just five games may not have a significant impact on the way Alabama is viewed come Selection Sunday. But you can't blame the Crimson Tide's opponents for being frustrated by the whole thing.
"How do they make it right for us?" Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said in a Tuesday press conference. "How is it made right for us?... They're not going to play with their full roster against the other teams when we had to play against their full roster. I don't know how that's made right for us for the NCAA Tournament."
Texas A&M basketball coach Bucky McMillan on if the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee should factor Charles Bediako (who is no longer eligible) playing in Alabama’s 100-97 win over A&M when determining seeding: “You hope it’s got to be.” pic.twitter.com/DjiHgn6LUd
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) February 10, 2026
Texas A&M and Auburn lost by a combined seven points to Alabama last week when Bediako was playing. Auburn will get another crack at the Crimson Tide in the regular season, but Texas A&M won't. Both programs are led by first-year coaches and are scrapping for everything in a tough league while trying to position themselves for SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament seeding.
"Let's talk about the SEC race and the SEC seeding and pursuit of a regular season (title)," McMillan said. "Competing is hot to try and win the SEC. You know that playing those guys at full strength — and they're not able to play other teams at full strength — that's a disadvantage to us, and we know that."
Let's dive into the Bracketology updates for Thursday...
Bracketology top seeds
Virginia Tech's big Q1 road win
Virginia Tech moved up from the "Next 8 Out" to the First Four Out after a 76-66 win at Clemson on Wednesday night. The Hokies (17-8, 6-6 ACC) now own three Quad 1 victories, including a Dec. 31 victory over Virginia that continues to age nicely. With a No. 44 ranking in Wins Above Bubble (WAB), Virginia Tech is trending in the right direction from a resume perspective and is nudging up against the cut line. If the season ended today, the CBS Sports Bracketology suggests the Hokies would have a 47.6% chance of selection.
Missouri's increased odds
Missouri added yet another impressive win to its file on Wednesday night, toppling Texas A&M 86-85 on the road. It marked the Tigers' third straight win, and it improved them to 17-7 (7-4 SEC). Though it didn't lead directly to a major jump in Mizzou's Bracketology standing this morning (the Tigers are still Last Four In), it did change Missouri's selection percentage in a significant way. If Selection Sunday had been yesterday, our model would have given Missouri a 76.6% chance of hearing its name called. But after picking up a third Quad 1 win — adding to victories at Kentucky and over Florida — the Tigers would have a 97.3% selection chance if the committee were meeting now and reviewing this resume.
There is a lot of basketball still to be played, and Missouri faces a challenging closing stretch. But as things stand on Feb. 12, it is in a good spot.
