Alabama’s lightning-rod decision to play Charles Bediako has made it a punching bag, and Nate Oats’ crew felt the full brunt of the self-induced wrath after falling to unranked Tennessee 79-73 in front of its hard-hat-wearing, home faithful.
The jeers came from everywhere, but no one was pettier than Tennessee basketball’s official account, which dropped an A+ diss track.
This is what Oats signed up for when he ushered in a pro in Bediako, who is getting a controversial redo after he had the opportunity to stay in college in 2023 and chose to leave.
Were Alabama fans cheering Charles Bediako — or the erosion of the NCAA?
John Talty
Tuesday was the original date for Bediako’s preliminary injunction, but weather concerns have pushed it back (it hasn’t been rescheduled yet), allowing Bediako to obtain another 10-day temporary restraining order. He will play against Missouri on Tuesday. And again in Friday’s road clash against Florida. Oh, and at least one more time next Wednesday against Texas A&M. Alabama has no choice but to take the sneers and digs.
It will also get its revenge if Bediako is allowed to play the rest of the year.
This Alabama team, if healthy, has a chance to be really, really dangerous. A year after producing two Final Four squads and the national champion, SEC does not have an elite team this season, but Alabama will have the personnel to rise above the morass of good, but flawed, programs that sit in the upper zip code of SEC basketball.
It didn’t show it against the Vols — injured starting guard Aden Holloway and emerging freshman wing Amari Allen were sorely missed — but Oats’ vision with Bediako in the fold is clear. Allen and Holloway do not have significant injuries, so Alabama’s rotation is not far away from looking deep and deadly.
We already knew Alabama had elite guard play. Philon can go band-for-band with anybody in America, period, and Holloway has been better than Mark Sears with half the fanfare. We already knew Alabama had a flock of shooters. But Bediako unlocks a new lever for this club. Tennessee shot just 50% at the rim during the 25 minutes that Bediako was on the floor. It’s just one game, but that’s not nothing. Bediako instantly gave Alabama’s offense more vertical spacing, more speed and a bit more unpredictability.
If Bediako gets the nod to play the rest of the year, Oats will have every tool in the holster. Alabama can play a double-big lineup of Sherrell and Bediako to confront Florida’s big fellas. It can get extremely fast, extremely quickly with Philon, Holloway, Wrightsell, Allen and Bediako on the floor together to counteract a team like Texas A&M, who will press and press and press and press some more. When Alabama tangles with Arkansas next month, it could trot out Bol Bowen at the 4 next to Bediako to match up with the hyper-athletic Trevon Brazile and the silky-smooth Malique Ewin.
Oats likes math, so how does this formula sound? Pro guard in Philon + pro wing in Allen + pro center in Bediako? That’s a recipe that Alabama can cook with.
The SEC’s most dangerous team is hiding in plain sight. The imminent courtroom decision looms large.
All-Defense picks!
Let’s give some love to the best defenders at each position in college basketball. There are so many you could pick from, but I settled on these five brilliant weapons.
G Killyan Toure, Iowa State: Toure has cooled off a smidge in conference play, but the Iowa State freshman is a pest on the ball who plays with relentless effort and will pick you up for all 94 feet. He’s not perfect — some of the off-ball defense can be an adventure — but he’s truly one of the best freshman on-ball defenders that we’ve seen in college basketball in recent memory.
G Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State: Fears brings the clamps every night. Michigan State’s sophomore point guard understands the scouting report better than almost everybody. He’s seemingly always in the right place at the right time. He clearly studies his playbook and knows his opposition’s sets and frequencies like the back of his hand. Michigan State’s team defense is terrific (they load up the gaps better than anybody), but Fears is the unquestioned head of the snake.
Wing Miles Byrd, San Diego State: Byrd does some freaky things defensively that you just can’t teach. His ability to track the ball in the air is so unique. Byrd has posted a 4.9% block rate and a 4.4% steal rate. Only five players in America are currently in that threshold. He appears out of nowhere for timely traps to rip the ball away.
He’s an excellent secondary rim protector. No one is safe from getting their shot swatted in transition when Byrd is in the vicinity. He absolutely got hosed of a game-winning block in last week’s crushing last-second loss to Grand Canyon.
F JoJo Tugler, Houston: Only one player in college basketball has a steal rate north of 5.0 and a block rate north of 9.0: Tugler. When he defends without fouling, Tugler is a takeaway machine who can single-handedly wreck gameplans. His ability to blow up ball screens 30 feet from the rim and then sprint back and help protect the basket is utterly absurd.
C Aday Mara, Michigan: Michigan has the No. 1 defense in the country when Mara is on the floor, holding opponents to just 0.91 points per possession. Opposing guards start to dip into the paint and then swerve back out to the perimeter when they see Mara down there because of his elite rim protection. When he can loom in the paint, Michigan’s defense is a total headache. Opponents are shooting just 44% at the rim against Michigan when Mara is on the floor. He ranks sixth nationally in block percentage.
Bracket-buster or pretender: Mid-major edition
Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to determine which mid-majors will win or lose in March Madness. Matchups are everything, especially as the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen in college basketball. 2025’s Final Four featured four No. 1 seeds. The 2026 Final Four likely won’t have that — the No. 1 seeds aren’t quite as terrifying this year — but it’s shaping up to be similarly top-heavy because teams in the top-10 are putting up historic numbers and separating from the pack. Per Basket Under Review’s brilliant Will Warren, the average net rating margin between 2026’s best 10 teams and the rest of the sport is the widest it’s ever been.
Imagine earning a No. 14 seed and getting to play … Houston in the first round. The Cougars are tracking to be a No. 3 seed per CBS Sports Bracketology. Houston currently has a +30.72 net rating on KenPom, putting it right on par with the 2022-23 UConn team that won the National Championship.
That giant is a No. 3 seed? Good luck and best wishes.
We’re hurtling towards a second straight year where teams in that Nos. 14, 15 and 16 seed range just get obliterated again and it’s going to be a tall task for some of mid-majors to break through this iron-clad top shelf of squads and make a real run.
So, who is real and who is fake? A fortunate draw is the obvious skeleton key for any mid-major, but understanding personnel is vital. These mid-majors need dudes now more than ever. Plus, some of these teams at the top are uber physical. The “height, weight, speed” gap is primed to make-or-break many outlooks for potential bracket-busters.
Let’s dive into five notable mid-majors who are tracking to make the Big Dance. We’ll do an expansive mid-major check-in in February, but consider this an appetizer of sorts.
The Outlier: A mid-major with a high-major profile
Saint Louis (19-1): Saint Louis ranks No. 1 in the country in effective field goal percentage on offense and No. 1 in the country in effective field-goal percentage on defense. That’s rare air. The Billikens are a problem.
Saint Louis has a legit nine-man rotation with rangy wings, speedy guards and improved interior thump. Saint Louis’ combination of size, skill, defensive versatility and a boatload of shooting is terrifying. The Billikens are tracking for a No. 5 seed, so this is clearly not a typical mid-major outfit. The personnel is also different. Robbie Avila is one of the top stretch 5s in the country, and there are four former high-major players in this rotation. Coach Josh Schertz can tap a ton of different buttons to generate advantages, and there won’t be a giant athleticism gap when Saint Louis plays anyone. It is different.
Real deals: Not a comfy first-round opponent
Belmont (18-3): A frequent dancer during the 2000s and 2010s, we have not seen Belmont play in an NCAA Tournament game since 2019 (it qualified for the canceled 2020 tourney). It will come down to the conference championship as always, but coach Casey Alexander has some serious pieces at his disposal in Nashville.
Big man Drew Scharnowski is an absolute load, especially in the open floor when he gets a head of steam. He can jackhammer dunks on anybody. Forward Sam Orme and Eoin Dillon are scary floor-spacers, and trustworthy backup center Brigham Rogers rounds out one of Alexander’s best-ever frontcourts. That interior two-way pop gives Belmont real staying power. It has a top-10 two-point defense supercharged with serious rim protection. That has proven to be a perfect complement to Alexander’s beautifully engineered offense that generates high-quality looks at a sky-high rate year after year.
Belmont needs to get senior point guard Nic McClain healthy, but there’s size and shooting everywhere, especially with Tyler Lundblade, who is a born and bred net-shredder.
Tulsa (17-3): These Tulsa guards are terrifying. Miles Barnstable needs about a quarter inch of space to fire, and Ade Popoola is a big, off-ball spacer whom defenses have to respect. Point guard Tylen Riley has been an utter revelation as a set-the-table, paint-touch machine who gets to the foul line at will and can hit an open trey. Forward David Green has a brilliant all-around game, and Tulsa can bring ace defender Myles Rigsby off the bench to sic on just about anybody.
Tulsa doesn’t have an elite interior fortress. I worry about it against a heavy post-up team that can obliterate you on the glass, like a date with Florida in a No. 5-12 clash would be rough. But these guards are awesome, and it’s an old, battle-tested team. If they can make it, look out.
Not buying it (yet)
Miami (Ohio) (20-0): The Redhawks have terrific continuity, excellent ball movement, tons of shooting, ideal spacing and a fantastic pick-and-roll offense. I’m just hesitant about the interior defense. Top-200 opponents are shooting 63% at the rim against the Redhawks, and that’s without facing a truly excellent front-line. Former Rutgers big man Antwone Woolfolk has been a revelation for the Redhawks, but if he got into foul trouble in the Big Dance, it could be a layup line. Miami (Ohio) is good, but a draw against an awesome front-line would be less than ideal.
Hawaii (15-4): The last time Hawaii made the NCAA Tournament, it knocked off No. 4 seed Cal (who had Jaylen Brown) to advance to the 2016 second round. This is the best Rainbow Warrior club in a decade, thanks to an elite interior defense. Seven-foot center Isaac Johnson — a former Oregon signee back in the day — is an intimidating shot-blocker and rim deterrent. Hawaii is able to blanket the 3-point stripe, funnel everyone towards a massive frontline and reap the rewards. Hawaii just has so much size with five guys 6-foot-8 or taller in the rotation.
I just do not trust the guard play. Hawaii’s top guards (Aaron Hunkin-Claytor and Hunter Erickson) both have sky-high turnover rates in pick-and-rolls. This is an old, big team that held up totally fine physically against Oregon and Arizona State, but I don’t think it can win a shootout against a good high-major club.
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