How the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee can, cannot evaluate Alabama following Charles Bediako ruling

On Monday, a judge ruled against Alabama center Charles Bediako in his quest to remain eligible through the rest of the college basketball season. As the NCAA gets a major win inside the courtroom, it now sets up a month-plus of debate over what repercussions will come.

The original injunction, giving by Tuscaloosa judge James Roberts — who later recused himself after concern over a potential conflict of interest given his status as an Alabama donor — prevented the NCAA from punishing the school or player for playing within the window.

During his five-game tenure with the team, Bediako averaged 22 minutes, scoring 10 points with 4.6 rebounds during that time. The Crimson Tide went 3-2 across those games, including wins over Missouri, Texas A&M and Auburn.

Even with a new ruling, from a new judge, that makes banning Alabama from the NCAA Tournament, vacating wins, or any direct action against the team highly unlikely at this point. However, there is plenty leeway given to Selection Committee members as they seed the 68-team field in March.

Selection Committee process

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee meets each season to seed the 68-team field, starting with one automatic bid from each conference before selecting the at-large portion of the bracket based on a combination of resume metrics, analytic models, and the seeding rules.

Within those three sections, there are multiple factors which a room full of members debate. Whether evaluating two teams with different rankings in the NET vs. Torvik, a group of teams with more Quadrant 1 wins than another, or a unique situation surrounding a team’s record, the ultimate decision comes from a consensus. This not only protects against severe outliers, but also limits the possibility of one member’s feelings creating outsized movement.

In the case of Alabama, there is one section of the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Committee guidelines which will draw vast attention. In a provision which is most often used to evaluate a team which missed its star for a portion of games — often losses which stand out from the rest of the resume — the members can take player availability into consideration.

Alabama’s unique resume

In a statement to Jon Rothstein on Monday, an NCAA official confirmed that the Selection Committee will evaluate the Crimson Tide “by the roster that it has available for March Madness.”

This means the members inside the room can effectively rule out Alabama’s results during the brief Bediako tenure, as they do not reflect the current roster. That would put added emphasis on how they finish the season, both by record and analytic movement, as they look to prove they are as good without him as they were with him.

Alabama picked up one Q1 win and two Q2 wins during the stretch with Bediako, meaning if the debate comes down to another team which owns a similar resume, the center’s absence could become a determining factor in which team gets the nod. Protecting the Crimson Tide from direct punishment here, blind resume comparisons are also used throughout the process.

This process, while it could be considered a punishment against Alabama in some corners, would follow the same guidelines which have been used in the past to drop teams which had injured stars, particularly when their results slipped down the stretch of the season.

The need for a consensus on these decisions protects the Selection Committee in this decision. It also allows any members who believe Alabama should not drop below another team to voice their opinion.

Whether the NCAA Tournament seeding is impacted by the ruling against Charles Bediako and Alabama remains to be seen. However, there could be potentially be hints regarding which direction the members lean based on the early Top 16 seeding which is annually released during February.