NCAA men's basketball committee chair confirms Alabama will not be punished for playing Charles Bediako

When the NCAA men’s basketball committee evaluates Alabama’s seeding for March Madness, the Crimson Tide will not be punished for playing Charles Bediako, selection committee chair Keith Gill said. Bediako played five games after a judge granted a temporary restraining order in his eligibility lawsuit.

Per the terms of the TRO, issued by a judge in the state of Alabama, the NCAA is not able to punish the Crimson Tide for putting Bediako into games. Alabama went 3-2 during games in which he appeared, but a different judge denied Bediako’s request for an injunction to maintain his eligibility.

But when it’s time to evaluate Alabama’s seeding for the NCAA Tournament, Gill said the committee will not adjust its process. That means the Tide will not receive any punishment for allowing Bediako to play.

“Those games do count,” Gill said, via ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “You have to decide how you’re going to count them. The committee will apply our normal player availability process.”

Bediako received immediate eligibility as a result of a TRO despite playing in the NBA G-League just weeks earlier. He averaged 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds across his five appearances while shooting 77.3% from the field.

When it comes to handling eligibility cases, though, there are questions about potential future punishments. Ross Dellenger reported Thursday that the NCAA could invoke a nearly 51-year-old rule, which would impact multiple teams.

But NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt said the committee does not have anything to do with eligibility issues. Instead, its focus is to look at what happened on the court.

“That’s not the basketball committee’s role,” Gavitt said, via CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. “The role is to evaluate these teams form a competitive standpoint and bracket and seed accordingly.”

The response to Nate Oats’ decision to play Bediako after the initial ruling generated strong reaction from across the college basketball world. But as he looked back on the situation, he said it was “100%” worth it.

“There was an opportunity to help one of our former players out,” Oats said. “He was within his five-year window and he was trying to get his degree. Here’s the thing too … my job as head coach is to do the right thing by our guys. Charles is one of our guys, and that was the right thing to do by one of our guys.

“Like I’ve said before, this is not some mercenary deal where we have a 23-year-old coming in for a semester from someone that nobody knows. He was deemed legally eligible to play, and we’re gonna absolutely support him.”