The Importance of Rebounding in Alabama's Matchup With Texas A&M: Just a Minute

A look at the rebounding numbers for each team, as the Crimson Tide and Aggies were on the wrong end of this stat category in nine of their 11 combined losses.

Alabama forward London Jemison jumps over Clemson players for the rebound in the second half of the game on Dec. 3, 2025. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral staff writer Hunter De Siver discusses the importance of rebounding in Alabama basketball's matchup with Texas A&M.

Alabama basketball is currently outside of the AP Top 25 for the first time since Jan. 22, 2024, with last Sunday's blowout loss to Florida ending Alabama's 42-week streak on this prestigious list. UA is currently ninth in the SEC standings with a 4-4 record. For reference, it has finished outside of the top-5 just once since head coach Nate Oats' arrival, and that was his first season.

The SEC was on top of the college basketball world last season, as it sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament. But this year, there's a ton of parity across the board and the Crimson Tide has a long way to reach the peak of the conference. And speaking of the top, Alabama's next game is at home on Wednesday night against Texas A&M, which holds the first-place spot with a 7-1 record.

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said during Tuesday's press conference that UA is "getting close to the tipping point," as "we're either going to start playing better and go on a run here, or we're going to continue to play .500 basketball."

Oats explained that he was "most disappointed in the difference in the effort shown," during last Sunday's blowout loss to Florida. He also commended Texas A&M's system, which "based on playing hard, giving max effort."

One stat category that measure effort is rebounding. Alabama ranks 60th in Division I in offensive rebounds per game (12.6), while Texas A&M stands at 71st (12.4). That said, despite neither team being in the upper tier on the offensive glass, there's a bit of a disparity in defensive and total rebounds. The Aggies are 92nd in defensive boards (26.0) and 64th in total (38.5), while the Crimson Tide is 10th in defensive (28.9) and 13th in total (41.5).

So, why is rebounding so important tonight? Well, six of Alabama's seven losses have come when it loses the rebounding battle. The Crimson Tide has won this stat category in nine of its 21 games. The Aggies have won this stat category in 12 of its 21 games, and three of its four losses this season have come when being on the wrong end of the rebounding battle.

Alabama's Losses in the Rebounding Battle:

(Margin of loss on the glass, Opponent, Game result in parentheses)

-24: Purdue (L)
-20: Arizona (L)
-12: Gonzaga (L)
-11: Florida (L)
-10: Texas (L)
-9: Tennessee (L)
-5: Mizzou (W)
-5: Kennesaw State (W)
-4: Clemson (W)
-2: Oklahoma (W)
-2: Illinois (W)
-1: South Florida (W)

Texas A&M's Losses in the Rebounding Battle:

(Margin of loss on the glass, Opponent, Game result in parentheses)

-25: Tennessee (L)
-11: Oklahoma (W)
-7: Texas (W)
-6: Auburn (W)
-5: Texas Southern (W)
-3: Oklahoma State (L)
-3: Mississippi Valley State (W)
-2: Mississippi State (W)
-1: UCF (L)

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