Alabama
Florida coach Todd Golden says Gators have ‘a lot on the line’ against Alabama basketball
Last week, maturity was make-or-break for Alabama basketball and Florida ahead of the SEC foes’ meeting in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday.
While the No. 6 Crimson Tide was tested with keeping its composure against Mississippi State after completing the season sweep against Kentucky, the No. 3 Gators suffered a wild upset by unranked Georgia last Tuesday. On Saturday, Florida (25-4, 12-4 SEC) bounced back with a win over Texas A&M, but Alabama (23-6, 12-4 SEC) blew its momentum in a matter of 30 seconds against Tennessee.
Nate Oats recalled Alabama veterans throwing themselves pity-parties heading into last season’s game in Gainesville, egos bruised by Tennessee. The Crimson Tide finds itself in the same situation once again, but it’ll need a better response than the one that saw the Gators drop over 100 points on UA in both the 2024 regular season and SEC Tournament.
Here are three things to know before Oats and Florida coach Todd Golden meet again.
Todd Golden says Florida has ‘a lot on the line’ entering trip to Tuscaloosa
After an 89-70 win against a Texas A&M squad that’s navigating a four-game losing streak, Golden found Auburn a deserving lock to win the SEC regular-season. However, he has no problem with being the runner-up to the top overall seed ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
“Obviously Auburn is gonna win the league by themselves, what they’ve done this year. It’s incredible,” Golden said on Saturday. “But we have a chance to go into Tuscaloosa on Wednesday and if we win that game, then we’re in the driver’s seat to get second place. So we have a lot on the line left.”
Golden added the Gators, who have yet to have lost two games straight, are still playing for a No. 1 seed, too.
Gators F Alex Condon recovering well ahead of Alabama visit
Georgia marked UF forward Alex Condon’s first time back on the floor in four games. A couple weeks earlier at Mississippi State, the sophomore went down with a low ankle sprain, but the recovery process appears to be moving along just fine. Against the Aggies, Condon went 5-for-6 for 11 points with a game-high nine rebounds and split a team-best four assists with Walter Clayton Jr.
However, as the Gators went 11-for-16 from the one-line, Condon was 1-for-5. Every free throw is going to count against the Crimson Tide, which ranks fifth in Division I converting about 18.9 attempts per game.
“I was feeling a little bit more comfortable. Just got to make some free throws next game,” Condon said.
Another dogfight on deck for Crimson Tide
For the first time in the Nate Oats era, Alabama basketball scored more than 75 points against Tennessee. Florida’s offense, led by an average 16.9 points per game for Clayton, is a bigger threat than that of the Volunteers, and the Gators still give the Crimson Tide another defense to be worried about.
Florida guards Alijah Martin and Denzel Aberdeen understood the assignment against A&M, which resulted in a scoreless first-half for Aggies star Wade Taylor IV.
“Both those guys, their ability to impact at the top of our defense has been a big part of our growth that way this year. Ball pressure, staying in front, making it harder on guys. We didn’t have that last year, the way we do this year,” Golden said.
Behind the Volunteers, Florida’s defense from the floor and from deep rank No. 2 in the SEC at 39.3% and 29.2%, respectively. Against Tennessee, Alabama went 12-for-29 on layups while shooting 37.5% from three. The Gators are also second in the SEC — and 12th in DI — in offensive rebounds after Texas A&M, who leads Division I with 15.8 per game.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
Alabama
Top-30 overall recruit Jaxon Richardson commits to Alabama
Jaxon Richardson, the No. 27 overall recruit in the 2026 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking, has committed to Alabama.
The 6-foot-6 four-star small forward out of Southeastern Prep (FL) ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over USC, Creighton, and Ole Miss. He also received offers from Miami, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida, Villanova, and others.
Richardson, a McDonald’s All-American, becomes the Crimson Tide’s third commitment of the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star shooting guard Qayden Samuels (No. 28 NATL) and four-star small forward Tarris Bouie (No. 54 NATL).
He’s the son of NBA veteran and two-time NBA Dunk Contest champion Jason Richardson. His older brother, Jase, played for Michigan State last season before being selected 25th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.
More on Richardson
Rivals’ National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw says Richardson is one of the most explosive players in the 2026 class:
Jaxon Richardson is able to combine fluid athleticism with explosive burst in a way no other player in this class can. He uses his athleticism to his advantage on the floor. He fills the outside channels with a purpose in transition, he is aggressive in the passing lanes, and he plays as a vertical floor spacer in the dunker spots and lob plays. Last summer, playing with the Florida Rebels on Nike’s EYBL Circuit, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 12.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting and 10.5 attempts per game. Last high school season, he averaged 12.9 points on 61.0 percent shooting on 8.9 attempts per game. He is a highly efficient player, as 84.4 percent of his makes last high school season were at the rim.
Alabama
Alabama Baseball Ties Stolen Base Record In Win Over Hornets
Alabama baseball cruised to a win over Alabama State on Wednesday night, beating the Hornets 13-4 to complete the season sweep. The Crimson Tide tied a program record with nine stolen bases in one of the stranger contests that will be played this season.
The tone was set for a tumultuous night on the basepaths in the opening minutes of the game. Leadoff batter Bryce Fowler, who exited Tuesday’s game after getting beaned in the head, was walked, and promptly took second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch in Justin Lebron’s at-bat, paving the way for Lebron to steal second when he was ultimately walked as well.
The successful baserunning instantly paid off, as Brady Neal drove both in with a double to left-center field before John Lemm walked two at-bats later. Both runners stole their respective bases on the same pitch in Jason Torres’ plate appearance, meaning that four of the first five batters of the game stole a base.
Alabama has been exceptional on the basepaths, sitting at 30-for-30 on the season. Lebron, who swiped two bags on Wednesday, leads the team with 12. The junior had an up-and-down night, hitting his eighth home run of the season, but also committing an error at shortstop for the fourth consecutive game.
“Get those things out of there now, baby. The dude is unbelievable,” an unconcerned Rob Vaughn said on Tuesday of Lebron’s errors. “We’re going to look up at the end of the year, and that guy is going to have five or six errors, which one he’s got right now, and we’ll be like, ‘Man, that guy is the best of all time to do it.’”
Wednesday’s game was a very prototypical midweek contest with no shortage of quirks and oddities throughout its nearly four-hour runtime. Fifteen Alabama batters were walked, falling just one shy of the program record, and the hit by pitch record was tied as seven batters were plunked.
The game was never competitive from an on-field standpoint. After barely escaping with a 2-1 win in the first matchup with the Hornets two weeks ago, this was a far more accurate representation of what these games typically look like, as Alabama now leads the all-time series 15-0.
Freshman Joe Chiarodo made his first career start, allowing two hits and one walk over two scoreless innings. He was named the winning pitcher. Luke Smyers, Connor Lehman, Anthony Pesci and Tate Robertson were the other pitchers to take the mound. Lehman allowed a three-run blast in the sixth inning, and those were the only runs until the incredibly-named Skywalker Mann drove in a run off Robertson in the ninth.
Perhaps the most shocking figure from the game was that Alabama had 19 runners left on base. The Crimson Tide left the bases loaded in four different innings. As stated, this was just a bizarre baseball game across the board. With the midweeks out of the way, the Crimson Tide gets to prepare for its final weekend tune-up before SEC play as North Florida heads into Tuscaloosa on Friday.
Alabama
New Alabama law to set screen time limits for kids in day care, pre-K and kindergarten
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.
The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.
“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”
Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.
Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.
“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”
A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.
“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.
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