Auburn is playing its best ball of the season at the right time and Alabama is slipping at the wrong time.
The Tigers are coming off a road series win at South Carolina and have won three straight SEC series. At 32-17 overall, 12-12 in the SEC, Auburn would be seeded seventh if the SEC Tournament began today and almost assuredly a No. 2 seed in an NCAA Regional.
Alabama got swept at home by Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are 23-24, 8-16. Finishing under .500 means no at-large bid to a regional, but Alabama will have to win the SEC Tournament just to qualify for that. Right now, Alabama would be the No. 11 seed, owning the tiebreaker over Mississippi State due to a series win.
But, Alabama is only a half-game ahead of Georgia and a full game ahead of Tennessee. With a road series at Auburn and home series over SEC overall leader against Vanderbilt, it doesn’t look good for Alabama’s chances.
The SEC Tournament runs from May 19-24 at the Hoover Met. The top four teams get a bye. Seeds 5-12 play single-elimination games on May 19. The tournament, then down to eight teams, goes to a double-elimination format the next day until the field is cut to four on the 23rd, when it goes back to single-elimination.
Alabama and Auburn play this weekend at Auburn. Game times are Friday at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Games will be televised online at SEC Network Plus.
With two weeks left, check out the tournament seeds are and remaining SEC schedules.
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