Sports
Alabama court denies Charles Bediako’s injunction for NCAA eligibility
Alabama Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako (14) as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Auburn Tigers 96-92. A circuit court judge in Alabama denied Charles Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction to continue the resumption of his college basketball career Monday, rendering him ineligible once again.
Bediako last month won a temporary restraining order from the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court that allowed him to rejoin the Alabama basketball team for the rest of 2025-26, in a challenge to NCAA eligibility rules.
Bediako, 23, played two seasons for Alabama before entering the 2023 NBA Draft and going undrafted. He signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs but was released before playing in an NBA game. He proceeded to play in 82 games in the G League.
Those factors were enough for County Circuit Court Judge Daniel F. Pruet to decide that Bediako did not have a “reasonable expectation” to be allowed to return to the college game as no prior case existed where a player was granted eligibility under the same circumstances.
Pruet said Bediako “failed to establish that he would suffer irreparable harm,” “failed to establish that he has no adequate remedy at law without the issuance of the injunction” and “failed to demonstrate that he has at least a reasonable chance of success on the ultimate merits of those claims.”
It marks a perhaps unlikely victory for the NCAA at a time when its rules regarding player eligibility have been challenged and overturned in court with frequency.
The NCAA had allowed James Nnaji and other former G League players to be eligible to play because they were not previous college players who left, and because they had not signed NBA contracts. That is where the NCAA drew the line.
“To obtain the benefits promised to him for participation in NCAA basketball, the Plaintiff must be eligible to participate in NCAA basketball,” the judge said. “Eligibility to participate in the NCAA is controlled by the Defendant’s application of the eligibility rules legislated by the NCAA membership.”
Bediako’s original TRO was granted by a different judge, James H. Roberts Jr., who later recused himself from the case on the NCAA’s request because he was listed as an Alabama athletics booster who had made a lifetime contribution of between $100,000 and $249,000 to their foundation.
NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement Monday that “Common sense won a round” in the ongoing eligibility tug-of-war.
“The court saw this for what it is: an attempt by professionals to pivot back to college and crowd out the next generation of students,” Baker said. “College sports are for students, not for people who already walked away to go pro and now want to hit the ‘undo’ button at the expense of a teenager’s dream. While we’re glad the court upheld the rules our members actually want, one win doesn’t fix the national mess of state laws. It’s time for Congress to stop watching from the sidelines and help us provide some actual stability.”
Less enthused about the ruling was Alabama coach Nate Oats, who called himself “super disappointed” and felt the case shouldn’t have reached the courts to begin with.
“To me, the NCAA’s point of why Charles shouldn’t be eligible was all these rules that they have, but they’re not applying those rules to all these other players they’ve made eligible,” Oats said on his weekly radio show Monday night. “To me, it was very disappointing in the whole case. Disappointing for Charles.”
A 7-foot center, Bediako played five games (two starts) for Alabama under the temporary restraining order and averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Tide went 3-2 in those games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees acquire IF Max Schuemann in trade with Athletics
Sep 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann (12) throws the ball to first against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees acquired infielder Max Schuemann in a trade with the Athletics on Monday, sending right-handed pitching prospect Luis Burgos as the return.
Schuemann, 28, has appeared in 234 major league games over the 2024-25 seasons for the Athletics, who drafted him in the 20th round of 2018 MLB Draft.
He has a .212 career batting average and .306 on-base percentage with nine home runs, 18 doubles, 47 RBIs and 154 strikeouts to 69 walks. Last season, he hit .197 with two homers and 13 RBI in 101 games.
After largely playing shortstop (93 games) in 2024, Schuemann played his most games (39) at second base followed by third base (27) in 2025. He’s also played each of the outfield spots, bringing some real positional versatility to the Yankees.
Burgos, 20, was a Yankees undrafted-free-agent signing out of the Dominican Republic in June of 2024. He’s posted a 4-4 record and 3.39 ERA over 25 games (10 starts) in two seasons in New York’s farm system.
To make room for Schuemann, the Yankees designated outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 21 Arkansas rides depth into SEC encounter with LSU
Feb 7, 2026; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari talks with guard Meleek Thomas (1) during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Arkansas has been one of the more successful teams in the Southeastern Conference recently.
The No. 21 Razorbacks (17-6, 7-3 SEC) have won four of their last five games and are just one game behind conference-leading Florida going into their contest against LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Their most recent loss came against Kentucky on Jan. 31, but they bounced back with an 88-68 road victory against Mississippi State on Saturday. The victory came without two injured players, guards D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox, both of whom have started 18 games.
“We know we’re a deep team,” Arkansas forward Nick Pringle said, “so when we’ve got a guy out, next man up.”
Razorbacks freshman Isaiah Sealy played 15 minutes, the most he has played in an SEC game, and had six points, three blocks, two assists and one rebound against the Bulldogs.
“He was ready,” Pringle said. “He’d been locked in all week.”
Sophomore Billy Richmond III made his first start in three weeks and tied his SEC career high with 14 points.
Head coach John Calipari, who used just seven players against Mississippi State, said Wagner and Knox were questionable against LSU.
Even though Calipari was operating with a shortened bench, he still got a team effort. Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and eight assists, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and eight rebounds, Meleek Thomas scored 17 and Pringle grabbed a season-high 11 boards.
Arkansas, which defeated visiting LSU 85-81 on Jan. 24, missed its first five shots against Mississippi State.
“We’ve got to get better at (starting),” Calipari said.
LSU started just fine in its most recent game, but quickly saw things turn. The Tigers (14-9, 2-8) rolled to a 31-16 lead against visiting Georgia as they sought consecutive SEC wins for the first time this season.
But Georgia scored the last 11 points of the first half, took a 42-37 halftime lead and led by as many as 17 points in the second half as LSU absorbed an 83-71 defeat.
“I thought there were two things in the difference to the game,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said. “After a nine (assists) to two (turnovers) ratio, we were three to 12 the rest of the game. Then, after only giving up four offensive rebounds in the first half, we give up 12 in the second.”
Inconsistency within games has plagued the Tigers all season. It doesn’t help that starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who leads the team in scoring (15.3) and assists (6.5), has missed the last two games, and seven of 10 SEC contests, because of a lower-leg injury. His status for Tuesday is uncertain.
Thomas had 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in the Jan. 24 loss to the Razorbacks, which was his first SEC start.
“We can’t separate,” said LSU forward Marquel Sutton, who had 14 points as one of just two double-figure scorers against Georgia. “We’ve got to stay together as a group, as a team, just like we’ve been doing all season.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
After stunning defeat, No. 4 Duke out to bounce back vs. Pitt
Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) and Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) fight for the ball in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images After seeing a 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a last-second loss to its rival, No. 4 Duke will aim to bounce back on Tuesday night when it travels to Pittsburgh.
Duke’s road loss to North Carolina, on a last-second shot by the Tar Heels, was just the second of the season for the Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Duke was outscored by 15 points in the second half and 9-0 over the final 2:25.
A point of contention after the game between the two rivals was the discrepancy in fouls.
North Carolina was whistled for just seven, the lowest for a Duke opponent this season. The Tar Heels also were called for just one foul in the second half. North Carolina is averaging the fewest fouls per game (14.5) in the ACC.
Duke was called for 15 fouls, with starting forward Patrick Ngongba II fouling out in just 16 minutes. Instead of complaining about the officiating, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer used the foul numbers to challenge his players to work harder.
“For me, I don’t know if I’ve been a part of a game where there’s one foul in a half. I thought we were attacking the paint. Clearly, our guys have to play stronger and play better through contact,” Scheyer said. “Let me be very clear, that is not the reason (Duke lost). It’s hard to win, though, if you’re not drawing fouls at all and we’re fouling out. Again, not at all why we lost, but that’s something we have to do a better job with.”
Duke again was led by freshman Cameron Boozer, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season and seventh with at least 20 points. Boozer leads the ACC in scoring (23.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.0) this season.
“Get Cam downhill. You just know he’s going to make the right play,” Scheyer said. “Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m taking what we got every day of the week, twice on Sunday.”
Recent meetings between Duke and Pitt (9-15, 2-9) have been family reunions of sorts. Pitt coach Jeff Capel was an All-ACC guard for the Blue Devils in the mid-1990s and spent seven seasons on Duke’s bench as an assistant to longtime coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Scheyer and Capel were on the Blue Devils’ staff together for four seasons.
This season, Capel’s eighth at the helm of the Panthers, has been a struggle. Pitt has its second-worst single-season winning percentage of his tenure at .375. The Panthers have lost nine of their last 11 games, most recently falling at home 86-67 to SMU on Saturday.
Pitt ranks 302nd in scoring with 70.8 points per game.
“For a team that’s struggling like we are, a lot of times guys get energy when they see the ball through the basket,” Capel said. “If it’s not going through the basket, it can drain the energy and suck the energy from them … and then that affects everything. That’s where we have to grow. That’s where our immaturity and inexperience really has to grow.”
Pitt leading scorer Brandin Cummings (12.5 points) has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Cameron Corhen, who scored 15 points against SMU, delivers 12.3 points per game with a team-best 7.4 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Yankees acquire IF Max Schuemann in trade with Athletics
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