How deep can an elite offense and lackluster defense get a team in March? That’s what Alabama basketball will find out this month as its postseason begins.

UA will be a three-seed in the conference tournament, which starts Wednesday. The Crimson Tide (21-10, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) was atop the league standings for most of the year before faltering in recent weeks due to injuries and offensive stagnancy. National evaluators have continued to sour on Alabama, creating an opportunity to boost its March Madness resume later this week in Nashville.

In the final USA TODAY Sports coaches poll and Associated Press Top 25 ranks of the regular season, Alabama fell to 19th – down from 17th and 16th, respectively. Nate Oats and co. reached as high as 13th this year while maintaining a top-three offense per KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings.

There are four conference teams ranked above the Tide in the AP: Tennessee (2-0 versus Alabama), Kentucky (1-0), Auburn (1-1) and South Carolina (0-1). It could meet the Wildcats on Saturday should both win their initial contests.

“If we’re gonna win that tournament up there, it’s very hard to win it playing four in a row, especially with our depth right now,” Oats said after Alabama’s home finale against Arkansas, a four-point overtime win. “Hopefully, we get Rylan (Griffen) back. He’s day-to-day, spending a ton of time with Clarke, the trainer. But without him, our starting guards played 42, 40 and 39 minutes. If you’re gonna try to do that over four straight days, it’s gonna be very difficult. Now, even playing over three straight game would be hard. That’s why it would be helpful if we can get Rylan back or Sam or Davin to really step up and give us some minutes. Getting a bye till Friday makes it much more likely that you’ve got a chance to win that tournament. So this was big.”

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected Alabama as a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest region. UA’s first trip would be to Spokane for a matchup against Vermont. UA could also rematch Clemson, who knocked off the Tide at home earlier this season.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm placed the Tide as a four-seed in the east, pairing Alabama with McNeese State. That game would be played in Pittsburgh.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].