While much of the talk heading into Sunday’s game focused on Alabama’s frontcourt, specifically former G League player Charles Bediako being cleared to return to college basketball, it was Florida’s big men who came away with the last laugh.
With 8:06 before the half, Thomas Haugh connected with Alex Condon on a lob to give the Gators a 2-point lead. This basket sparked the Florida offense to a late first-half push capped by a Haugh 3-pointer that gave the Gators an 11-point advantage with 3:07, forcing Alabama to call a timeout.
The 10,627 fans in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center were on their feet, and the Gators compiled a 13-2 run. To start the second half, the Gators went on a 10-0 run, and from that point on, the contest was out of reach.
“That stretch was crazy. It was like a track meet. It was just up and down, up and down,” Haugh said. “That’s our style of ball. We were able to just go out and execute then.”
Fueled by Haugh and Condon’s combined 47 points, No. 19 Florida (16-6, 7-2 SEC) came out on top 100-77 over No. 23 Alabama (14-7, 4-4 SEC). The Gators picked up their fifth-straight win over the Crimson Tide, capped off with 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux scoring a field goal a day before his 20th birthday.
“A great win for our program,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “Our players did an incredible job, just playing with a great mentality from start to finish.”
Meanwhile, Bediako, who faced “G League Drop Out” chants from the student section throughout the game, was limited to 6 points on 2-of-4 shooting. Sunday marked the first time Bediako failed to record double-digit points since he was cleared to play on Jan. 21. His game ended shortly after he reached the foul limit with 2:10 left in the contest.
Condon led Florida with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting. He also recorded seven rebounds and six assists.
At the end of the first half, he finished the break with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. His dunk with 6:31 left in the first half gave the Gators a 30-28 advantage with 6:31 before the half. His dunk with just under two minutes left in the game put the Gators up by 23 points.
The Aussie also asserted himself defensively by protecting the rim with two blocks. He gave Aidan Shereel, who entered the contest leading Alabama with 2.5 rejections, a taste of his own medicine with 16:35 to go in the second half.
“Coach [Carlin] Hartman came to me and said, ‘The 3-point shot is just not falling, but don’t worry about it. Don’t let it affect what you do well,’” Condon said. “So, that’s what I focused on, getting to my spot in the paint and facilitating for the other guys around me.”
Haugh followed Condon with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
At the break, he logged 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including two 3-pointers. The junior forward opened his scoring on a lob from Boogie Fland that gave the Gators a 4-3 lead about two minutes into the contest. His dunk with 9:64 left in the second half gave the Gators a 20-point lead.
Reuben Chinyelu rounded out Florida’s starting frontcourt with 14 points and a team-high 17 rebounds. The junior center did a majority of his damage in the second half with 12 points and nine boards. Sunday marks the 13th double-double of the season for the Nigerian, including six of his last seven.
“I’m just showing everyone how versatile I am defensively and just doing what I am supposed to be doing to make sure my team is in a good spot,” Chinyelu said. “It just feels good to make an impact for my team.”
The Gators’ defense also asserted itself early against the No. 2 offense in the Southeastern Conference.
At the break, Florida had a 9-0 advantage in the turnover battle, leading to 12 points off turnovers. The Gators finished the contest plus-16 in turnover margin and had a 25-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Fland was the forefront of Florida’s defensive efforts, logging a team-high eight steals, two of which led to slam dunks for the sophomore guard in the first half. His defensive matchup, Labaron Philon Jr, came into Sunday leading Alabama with 22 points per game, but he finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting and a team-high five turnovers.
Fland’s eight steals tied the program record held by Clifford Lett, who had eight swipes against Georgia on Jan. 7, 1991.
“It gave us some juice,” Fland said. “Coming out with that effort. It was definitely a team effort and I could not have done it without these guys.”
Offensively, the Arkansas transfer had eight points on 4-of-9 shooting at the half and a team-high four assists. He finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and a team-high eight assists.
However, Florida struggled to keep the Crimson Tide quiet from beyond the arc. Alabama came into Sunday leading the nation in 3-point attempts. At the break, they shot 6-of-14 (43%) from three. Aden Holloway was 3-of-5 from 3-point range at the break to lead Alabama with 13 points. He finished with a team-high 19 points.
Florida’s leading 3-point shooter, Urban Klavžar, recorded his seventh double-digit scoring effort in his last eight appearances off the bench. The junior guard finished the contest with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. His 3-pointer with 9:16 to go in the second half put Florida up 21 points.
Florida’s frontcourt will look to remain dominant in the Gators’ next challenge against Texas A&M (17-4, 7-1 SEC) in College Station, Texas, Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
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
