National television comes to Gainesville for a ranked Southeastern Conference showdown with plenty of buildup heading into it.
No. 19 Florida (15-6, 6-2 SEC) hosts No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 5-3 SEC) Sunday at 1 p.m. in the O’Connell Center. Both teams have made noise on the court through their success this season, but there has been plenty of attention off the court leading up to the contest.
Charles Bediako, who spent three seasons professionally in the G League, was allowed to return to college basketball after a Tuscaloosa circuit judge granted him a temporary restraining order on Jan. 21. In response, Florida head coach Todd Golden responded to the obscurity of this situation and said that Florida will beat Bediako and Alabama anyway.
“People that I've spoken to are pretty aligned that this isn't kind of what we expect college to be about,” Golden said Jan. 23. “If people are asked, I don't think they're going to be afraid to share how they feel about it.”
Now, with Sunday’s contest coming up, here are four keys for how Golden can stand on his word and beat the Crimson Tide.
"I don't think Alabama needs bulletin board material,” Golden said.”They're a good program. They're used to winning in this league, and I'm confident in our team and our players.”
Limit Alabama's guards.
Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway are a large reason for Alabama's success on offense, which puts them No. 2 in the conference in scoring with 92 points per game.
Philon leads the team with 22 points and 5.1 assists per outing. Last season, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and had a pair of opposite outings versus Florida. In Tuscaloosa on March 5, the Mobile, Alabama, native had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. When the two teams met again 10 days later in the SEC tournament, Philon was held to 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field.
This season, he’s become a more consistent option for Alabama, logging double-digit points in all of his appearances. At Mississippi State on Jan. 13, he recorded a season-high 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including three shots from beyond the arc.
Alongside Philon is Holloway, who is averaging 16.9 points per game on a team-high 45.4% shooting from beyond the arc. The junior had back-to-back 26-point performances against Yale on Dec. 29 and Kentucky on Jan. 3.
However, Florida has had success in shutting down opposing guards.
On Wednesday, Florida held South Carolina’s leading scorer on the season Meechie Johnson to 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Against LSU, Dedan Thomas Jr. was limited to just 18 minutes of action after making his return from injury, but Florida's guards held him to 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting.
In order to stop this high-flying Alabama offense, Florida’s guards will have to hone in on defense and limit the Alabama backcourt.
Win down low
Florida’s frontcourt continues to be a dominating factor as the season goes on.
The Gators enter Sunday first nationally with 46.1 rebounds per game, a plus-15.7 rebound margin and 16.7 offensive boards per game. Because of this dominance on the glass, Florida ranks second nationally with 17 second-chance points per game.
Rueben Chinyelu leads the way for the Gators with 11 rebounds per game. Against South Carolina on Wednesday, the junior center grabbed his 12th double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“He was really good again on Wednesday,” Golden said. “He’s just turned into a very, very good player.”
Alex Condon is right behind Chinyelu, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and is coming off a 10-point, nine-rebound and eight-assist outing against the Gamecocks. Last year against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Condon had one of his best performances as a Gator, scoring 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Off the bench, Micah Handlogten is averaging 6.2 rebounds a game. On Wednesday, he put up 8 points and five rebounds. He has not recorded double-digit points since Florida played Saint Francis on Dec. 17.
For much of the season, the Crimson Tide has struggled to keep opponents off the glass. While their 41.9 rebounds per game puts them third in the SEC, they are giving up a league-worst 41.5 rebounds per outing.
However, there is one big caveat to this: Alabama now has Bediako.
Through two games, the 7-foot, 225-pound center has proven his value. Against Missouri on Tuesday, Bediako had 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting and six rebounds en route to a 90-64 win for the Crimson Tide.
Amari Allen leads Alabama with 7.8 rebounds per outing in addition to his 11.7 points. Against Vanderbilt on Jan. 7, the freshman forward had a career-high 25 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds. Allen has been sidelined since Alabama took on Oklahoma on Jan. 17, and his availability for Sunday’s contest is unknown.
Given Bediako is facing his first test in the frontcourt, and Allen may not be a full participant for Sunday's game, Florida’s frontcourt could play a large factor en route to a win.
Start fast
Last time out at home, the Gators finished the first half down 15 to Auburn. Florida turned the corner with the support of a sold-out O’Connell Center to tie the contest with 8:45 left, but the Gators fell short by nine.
Against South Carolina, Florida did not make the same mistake twice.
The Gators went on a 36-12 run in the final 11:01 of the first half, putting them up by 28. From there, it was smooth sailing for UF, blowing out the Gamecocks 95-48 in Columbia.
In another sold-out home crowd for a primetime matchup, the energy from the Florida fans will be there. If the Gators can start the game fast, they could make the contest out of reach for the Crimson Tide.
“Coming into this opportunity against ‘Bama, which is going to be a great opportunity, a great game, national TV, I think we as a program will be more prepared than we were last Saturday to compete, and we should be able to do that from the jump,” Golden said.
Convert from three
While Alabama may not be a superior rebounding team, its rim protection is among the nation's best.
The Crimson Tide comes into Sunday No. 6 nationally and No. 2 in the SEC with 5.9 blocked shots per game.
Aiden Sherrell leads the team with 2.5 rejections a game. He had eight blocks in two separate occasions during the season, against No. 1 Arizona on Dec. 13 and Clemson on Dec. 3. Taylor Bol Bowen and Bediako round out Alabama’s rim protection with 1.2 and 1 blocks a game, respectively.
While Florida’s frontcourt may hold its own against these frontcourt pieces, its guards may have trouble finishing around the rim. As a result, they will have to find more success from beyond the arc.
While Florida is shooting an SEC-worst 29% from beyond the arc, it has found more success recently. The Gators have made at least nine 3-pointers in four of their last six games, including nine against South Carolina, with Urban Klavžar accounting for three of them.
“We shot our best percentage by a lot on Wednesday night,” Golden said. “If we can make nine with a decent percentage, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win most games that we're in.”
Klavžar has been at the forefront of Florida’s progress from beyond the arc, converting a 3-pointer in 11 straight outings. He has also reached double-digit points in six of his last seven outings, including an 18-point performance on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range against LSU on Jan. 20.
To overcome Alabama’s ability to prevent interior scoring, Florida's guards, including Klavžar, will have to continue their strides from beyond the arc.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
