There was never any reason to doubt that Alabama men’s basketball would be part of the 2025 March Madness bracket, but now it’s official.

The Crimson Tide earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee announced Sunday. Alabama will play No. 15 seed Robert Morris in Cleveland in the round of 64 on Friday as part of the East region.

Duke is the No. 1 seed in the region.

This marks the fifth consecutive season that Nate Oats has led Alabama to the NCAA Tournament. It’s also the third top-two seed Alabama has landed under Oats. The Crimson Tide secured a No. 2 seed in 2021, a No. 1 seed in 2023 and now a No. 2 seed in 2025.

No other coach in Alabama’s history has accomplished three top-two seeds. Wimp Sanderson and Mark Gottfried each secured one No. 2 seed a piece. Now Oats has more top-two seeds than all other Crimson Tide coaches combined. It’s worthy noting the NCAA didn’t expand to 64 teams until 1985, a few years into Sanderson’s tenure.

Alabama enters the NCAA Tournament fresh off a 25-8 season. The Crimson Tide fell in the SEC Tournament semifinals to Florida but beat Kentucky in the quarterfinals.

Alabama made its first Final Four in program history a season ago. Oats will look to build on that success in 2025 with a roster featuring several fifth-year seniors such as Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Clifford Omoruyi and Chris Youngblood, paired with younger players such as Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Jarin Stevenson, Mo Dioubate and Aiden Sherrell.

Oats has made five NCAA Tournaments over his six seasons. The first was canceled because of COVID-19. His Alabama teams have gone as far as the Round of 64 once, the Sweet 16 twice and the Final Four once.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.