Any lingering doubt by Alabama fans - or wishful thinking by rival fans - can be put to bed about potential punishment for the Crimson Tide by the NCAA Tournament's selection committee over the five games the Crimson Tide played Charles Bediako before he lost his preliminary injunction against the NCAA and was deemed ineligible to play further.
The fact that Bediako was always ineligible in the eyes of the NCAA doesn't much matter; the temporary restraining order allowed him eligibility until he lost the preliminary injunction. If the selection committee were tasked with punishing teams for playing players the NCAA deemed ineligible, there would be a lot more than just Alabama on the chopping block.
Still, Bediako's five-game run cast a shadow around the Tide program and had even the most optimistic fans at least slightly nervous that retroactive action might be taken to punish the Crimson Tide with a lower seed line than they deserve.
According to the NCAA Tournament selection committee's chairman, they "will apply our normal player availability process" regarding Bediako:
Key detail from the committee room: NCAA cmte chair says the actual selection committee "will apply our normal player availability proces," re: Charles Bediako.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 19, 2026
The selection committee will NOT hold anything/punish Bama for playing Bediako.
Selection committee won't punish Alabama for playing Charles Bediako
It feels like even more of a moot point in the aftermath of Alabama's thrilling double-overtime win over Arkansas on Wednesday night, but it's still comforting to hear the words from the committee chair.
Alabama is now 3-0 since Bediako lost in court. And it's not like the Crimson Tide was dominating with Bediako in the lineup. Alabama went 3-2 in the five games Bediako played. Without him, they are 15-5 on the season. They've played plenty of games - and beaten plenty of quality opponents - without Bediako to give the committee a good idea of this team's quality.
Along with the win over Arkansas this week, Alabama earned wins over St. John's, Illinois, and Clemson out of conference without Bediako. It also beat Kentucky early in SEC play without him, too.
All Alabama could control since the Bediako ruling was their own performance on the court. It needed to leave no doubt and avoid any scenarios where the committee would be in a position for any sort of pseudo-punishment.
The Crimson Tide's performance since the ruling has done just that.