Golden, Gators unfazed by Charles Bediako’s return for Bama

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Todd Golden’s candor could be Alabama’s bulletin-board material when the teams meet  Sunday at the O’Connell Center.

Golden recently questioned 7-footer Charles Bediako’s return to Tuscaloosa after a two-season hiatus bouncing around the NBA’s G-League, an about-face counter to NCAA rules forbidding a player to enter the draft and return to college.

Golden ultimately shrugged off the controversial move last week while guaranteeing a Gators’ win even if Bediako played.

“We’re going to beat ’em anyways,” Golden said during a Jan 22 appearance on UF’s weekly “Gator Talk” radio show. “If he plays, we’ll beat ’em anyways.”

Golden’s chance has arrived.

Bediako is scheduled to start Sunday, courtesy of a temporary restraining order issued by an Alabama judge that granted the 23-year-old immediate eligibility.

Golden didn’t walk back his comments Friday but doesn’t expect them to impact Sunday’s outcome, either.

“I’ve thought about that,” he said. “I don’t think Alabama needs bulletin-board material. They’re a good program. They’re used to winning in this league, and I’m confident in our team and our players. It’s one of those things that has taken on some steam. But when you peel back on it, it’s like, ‘Oh, the coach thinks that they’re going to win in that game.’

“Like, it’s really not that crazy of a comment, but we’ll see.”

Sunday’s SEC showdown pitting the No. 19 Gators (15-6, 6-2 SEC) and No. 23 Crimson Tide (14-6, 43) features two fast-paced, high-scoring teams that push to wear down opponents.

Yet Bediako’s return gives Nate Oats’ squad an element it had been missing under the basket. He scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, had three rebounds and two blocked shots in his first game back against Tennessee, a 79-73 Alabama loss.

“He’s by far their most athletic big and will be very capable at rim-rolling and catching lobs,” Golden said. “On the defensive end, he’s their best rim protector. So he gives them a huge lift compared to what they were about a week and a half ago.”

Florida star Thomas Haugh views it as an unfair advantage while calling it “a little extra motivation.”

“It’s definitely not right,” Haugh continued. “This dude literally was at college, left, and then came back. But I don’t know. We’ll play them with, play them without him.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Bediako, who faced Golden’s Gators in 2023, will look to neutralize Florida’s decided frontcourt advantage. The 225-pound senior also will have his hands full with the nation’s leader carrying a plus-15.7 rebounding margin — compared with a plus-5 for Alabama.

Meanwhile, the Gators aim to counter the Crimson Tide’s considerable 3-point shooting edge. Alabama averages 12.4 3s, third nationally and tops among power conference teams, while Florida has managed just 7.5, or tied for 219th nationally.

The Gators found their range during Wednesday’s 95-48 win at South Carolina. While matching the program’s largest margin of victory in an SEC road game, Florida was 9-of-21 from beyond the arc — the fourth time in six games the Gators made at least 9 3s.

UF also had a season-high 28 assists against the overmatched Gamecocks.

“We played with a lot of purpose offensively and did a good job fighting for better shots,” Golden said.

The Gators will need a complete and focused performance in the sold-out O’Dome.

During last week’s 76-67 loss to Auburn, Florida came out flat, trailed 43-28 at halftime and ran out of gas as a 16-game home winning streak came to an end.

Golden doesn’t expect a repeat during a nationally televised game against one of the SEC’s top program, with Bediako’s presence as extra fuel.

“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.

Florida will enter on a four-game winning streak in the series while prevailing by an average margin 15.8 points and scoring an average clip of 102.5 points.

A fast start is critical, Haugh said.

“It’s going to be a track meet,” he said. “We need to play our style of basketball and not let them speed us up and obviously guard the 3-point line really well. We need to emphasize not letting them get out and get hot.

“They are one of those teams that once they get going, it’s hard to stop, so we have to not them get going at all.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com