GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Alex Condon scored 25 points, Thomas Haugh added 22 and No. 19 Florida handled Charles Bediako and 23rd-ranked Alabama 100-77 on Sunday.
Florida’s fifth consecutive victory in the series came a little more than a week after Gators coach Todd Golden said, “We’re gonna beat ’em anyways” in response to a judge’s decision to allow Bediako to return to college.
Golden said the guarantee was on his mind entering the game.
“I was thinking about that a lot last night, actually,” Golden told reporters, according to The Gainesville Sun. “I thought when one of the Alabama beat writers talked to Nate [Oats] about it on Friday, I thought his response [was] very similar. He’s like, ‘Yeah, I understand where he’s coming from, like, he’s trying to kick our ass, and we’re going to try to kick his ass. I don’t think that’s news to anybody.’
“But with that being said, yeah, absolutely.”
This one was so one-sided that 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, played the final minute and scored Florida’s last basket.
Boogie Fland chipped in 15 points, 8 assists and a career-high 8 steals for the defending national champion Gators (16-6, 7-2 SEC). Fland dominated his matchup against the league’s leading scorer, Labaron Philon. Fland’s eight steals matched the program record set by Clifford Lett in 1989.
Philon, who entered the game averaging 22 points, finished with 14. Aden Holloway led the Crimson Tide (14-7, 4-4) with 19 points.
Florida’s frontcourt was the difference. Condon, Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu combined for 61 points, 29 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Gators outscored Alabama 72-26 in the paint. Chinyelu finished with 14 points and 17 boards.
Bediako, a 7-footer who is suing the NCAA in an attempt to regain college eligibility despite leaving school and entering the NBA draft, played his third game with Alabama and first on the road. Florida’s student section taunted him with chants of “G League dropout” when he entered the game and touched the ball. Bediako finished with six points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 2:10 to play.
Florida used a 13-2 run late in the first half to help build a 10-point lead at the break and turned the AP Top 25 matchup into a lopsided affair by scoring the first 12 points coming out of the locker room.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
