Florida head coach Todd Golden provided some early bulletin board material for Alabama last week when he had pointed remarks following the initial temporary restraining order that allowed Charles Bediako to return to the Crimson Tide after a three-year G-League hiatus.
“They were able to finagle it where they got a judge that’s actually an Alabama donor to write a temporary restraining order," Golden said on his radio show. "We’re gonna beat them anyways. If he plays, we’ll beat them anyways.”
Golden's whining made its way to the Alabama locker room, unsurprisingly, and five days before the Crimson Tide head to Gainesville to face the defending national champions, there's already a buzz about it.
Following Alabama's 90-64 blowout win over Missouri on Tuesday night, Latrell Wrightsell, who scored a team-high 21 points, was asked about Sunday's matchup. He didn't hesitate to send a direct message to Golden and the Gators.
“They called us out, so we’re gonna be ready for them on Sunday. Not much else to talk about," Wrightsell told the SEC Network's Peter Burns.
Alabama is already fired up to take on Florida on the road
After a slow start to the season, Florida has emerged to once again appear like one of the best teams in the SEC. They are coming off a loss, however, where Auburn exposed some obvious flaws for Golden's team, particularly on the perimeter.
That could be where Alabama has the biggest mismatch. When fully healthy, there's no better backcourt in the country than the one that resides in Tuscaloosa. Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway, Amari Allen, and Wrightsell can overwhelm even the toughest of opponents.
And with Bediako in tow, and Aiden Sherrell taking a significant sophomore leap, the massive frontcourt advantage the Gators enjoyed over the Crimson Tide a year ago won't be as noticeable.
Going on the road and winning in Gainesville will be a difficult task, but Alabama is properly motivated and good enough to get it done. Stealing one on the road would make up for dropping the home game against Tennessee and put Alabama back in position to compete for the SEC regular-season crown down the stretch of the season.