The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s college basketball team is ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll that was released on Monday, but one AP voter admitted to refusing to vote for Alabama.
Connor Earegood of The Detroit News posted to X on Monday night, “Today’s AP Poll is out. A note on my ballot: I did not rank Alabama this week.”
“I will not rank a team that has to circumvent the rules through a court order just to win (and still lost),” Earegood continued. “To me, that’s a team admitting its own weakness.”
Today’s AP Poll is out. A note on my ballot: I did not rank Alabama this week.
I will not rank a team that has to circumvent the rules through a court order just to win (and still lost). To me, that’s a team admitting its own weakness.
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) January 26, 2026
Earegood is alluding to a situation surrounding the Alabama program and center Charles Bediako.
Bediako, who turns 24 in March, played for Alabama in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before leaving school early to enter the 2023 NBA Draft. He went undrafted and never played in an NBA game, but he spent the last three seasons playing for three different G League teams. He even played for the Motor City Cruise in the G League last weekend.
Last Wednesday, Bediako was granted a 10-day temporary restraining order by a Tuscaloosa judge that allowed him to return to Alabama to play for head coach Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. And on Saturday, he made his season debut, scoring 13 points (5/6 from the field), pulling three rebounds, and adding two blocks and two steals over 25 minutes off the bench. Alabama, ranked No. 17 entering the game, lost 79-73 at home to unranked Tennessee.
Well, on Monday, the temporary restraining order was extended another 10 days due to weather issues, as ESPN’s Jeff Borzello explains:
“Bediako was granted a 10-day temporary restraining order last week that allowed him to play immediately for Alabama and that barred the NCAA from punishing the university in any way, with a full hearing scheduled for Tuesday. But the parties held a virtual status conference Monday because Taylor Askew, one of the NCAA’s attorneys, was unable to attend Tuesday’s hearing because of weather issues.
Judge James H. Roberts extended the temporary restraining order for 10 days after the NCAA agreed ‘that there exists good cause’ to extend it.”
Alabama hosts Missouri on Tuesday before a road game against No. 19 Florida on Sunday in Gainesville, with Bediako eligible to play in those games. Expect reactions like Earegood’s to only ramp up in the coming days regarding Bediako’s eligibility status.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.