Alabama and Texas Tech Both Struggle to Rebound. How Does That Affect Sunday's Game?

TAMPA, Fla. — Nate Oats has been extremely critical of his team's rebounding all season. An inability to end possessions has served as a catalyst for a number of Alabama losses this season as teams have feasted in the paint against the Crimson Tide.

That statement now also applies for a Texas Tech team that has struggled mightily on the glass since JT Toppin's season-ending injury in mid-February.

"We're not a great rebounding team right now," Red Raiders head coach Grant McCasland said. "If I had to give one area that's got to improve the most as we progress in this tournament, it's rebounding. It's on both ends. Just the physicality required and then the nose for it, and we really miss JT in that regard."

The 6-foot-9 Toppin was one of the best rebounders in the sport, averaging 10.8 per game, more than the second and third leading rebounders on the team combined. His absence has been painfully apparent for the Red Raiders, who got outrebounded by 31 over their three-game losing streak entering the tournament.

Luke Bamgboye and Josiah Moseley have split the minutes at center down the stretch of the season. Both have shown flashes, but the performances have been inconsistent. The bigger piece for the Red Raiders has been the guards' ability to crash. Star point guard Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell have both taken on larger roles on the glass since Toppin's injury.

"Guard rebounding is huge for us," McCasland said. "When we play our best, our guards are five rebounds-plus each, and that's where it feels like we need to create advantages."

One of the Red Raiders' biggest problems is a pure lack of size, as they are one of the smallest Power Five teams still alive in the tournament. Six-foot-six power forward LeJuan Watts leads the active players with 6.0 rebounds per game. Texas Tech essentially runs a seven-man rotation with Bamgboye as the only player over 6-foot-8 that sees real minutes.

"JT (Toppin) was a super physical rebounder that bailed us out at times on the glass," Anderson said. "With him going out, we had to make it a team effort on the glass. We need guards rebounding on offense to try and get extra possessions for us."

Alabama's guards have not had to do much on the boards this season, as Labaron Philon and Latrell Wrightsell rank seventh and eighth on the team in rebounding, respectively. The duo, and, by extension, the inactive Aden Holloway, has not had to do much boxing out this season, and could be challenged in a unique way by this Texas Tech team that crashes at an extremely high rate.

"Part of what makes Texas Tech good is all the hustle plays," Oats said. "Some of that is guards going in and getting offensive rebounds. Our guards are going to have to rebound this game. We're going to have to make all those winning tough -- we call them blue-collar plays because they're good at it, and it helps make them -- there's a lot of reasons they're really good, but that's one of them."

While the guards will need to be monitored, rebounding ultimately does come down to the bigs. The Crimson Tide has reason to believe it holds the advantage there, especially with Aiden Sherrell coming off a dominant 15-rebound outing against Hofstra on Friday.

Sherrell is Alabama's second-leading rebounder behind Allen, but has carried the team on the glass the past few weeks as Allen's performance has slightly dipped. Allen, who produced regular double-doubles early in SEC play, believes he can get back to that level on Sunday.

"All season long, that's been one of our weaknesses, and he's carried us pretty much every single game in that category," Allen said of Sherrell. "I feel like I can step up and give him a little more help on that. It's a point of emphasis."

On paper, Alabama should have the advantage on the glass in this matchup. The Crimson Tide has more size and has shown flashes of dominance, particularly with Sherrell’s recent form. But that edge has not always translated this season, as Alabama has regularly lost rebounding battles it should have won. Against a Texas Tech team that relies on guards to crash and create extra possessions, that margin could once again be tested Sunday.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news.