The Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide matchup was shaping up to be an electrifying affair. The atmosphere has been tense, with Todd Golden already critical of Nate Oats and Alabama’s controversial decision to bring back Charles Bediako from the NBA G-League.

But it was far from close in Gainesville, Florida.

The Gators swept Alabama away, racing to a comfortable 100-77 win over the Crimson Tide. In doing so, Florida scored 72 points in the paint, becoming the first team from the SEC Conference in over 20 seasons to record 70+ points in the paint against a high-major opponent like Alabama.

Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats pointed fingers at Florida’s potential lane violations, and Todd Golden had a response ready for his fellow coach in the post-game conference.

The Florida Head Coach quietly summarised the game, highlighting their dominance over the paint.

“We beat him on the glass. We scored 72 points in the paint. I thought our guys were in there for one second, two seconds, and then we scored. We did a good job taking advantage of our catches down there, and our bigs were really, really good today.”

Golden’s statement was a direct rebuttal to Nate Oats, who claimed the big men from Florida liked sitting in the lane for around 10 seconds to grab the boards in the lead-up to the match. But he also said the quiet part out loud.

The Alabama Crimson Tide brought in Bediako from the NBA G-League to shore up their paint. However, it was the big men from Florida who showed their quality on the day.

Florida not only grabbed more rebounds but also created a record by dumping 72 points in the paint. Bediako managed just 6 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out with time remaining, much to the delight of a cheerful home crowd.

Florida outclassed Alabama in almost every department. But the one true metric that perhaps reflected in the scoreline was the turnovers, with Alabama having 18 to Florida’s 2.

The Florida Gators were 25-0 in points gained from turnovers during the match, and it reflected directly in the 23-point win.

Florida Gators star Alex Condon might get into the first-round projections with such performances

Thomas Haugh remains Florida’s best prospect for the 2026 NBA Draft and has cemented himself as a first-round pick. Experts project him around the top-15 mark, and he can rise further with better performances. However, Alex Condon can also see his draft stock increase considerably after his 25-point performance against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alex Condon is a reliable big man and has been projected to go late in the first or second round of the NBA Draft. His defensive efficiency is never in question, with the 6-foot-10 Australian averaging over 8 rebounds per game currently for the Florida Gators.

However, his offensive consistency has been debatable.

The 21-year-old has not yet shown a penchant to take over or influence the game with his offense as much.

Against Alabama, though, Condon not only scored a game-high 25 points but also tied his highest tally this season. In doing so against the seeded Alabama, featuring a big man in Bediako who has been NBA-ready and come back from the NBA G-League, Condon has shown he can not only lead the team on offense but also do it against a strong defense.