Who Nate Oats Wants to Step Up on Glass in Rematch with Tennessee

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Tennessee dominated Alabama on the glass in the first matchup between the two teams earlier this season back on Jan. 24. The Volunteers grabbed 42 rebounds compared to 33 for the Crimson Tide, including 14 offensive rebounds from Tennessee.

Houston Mallette led Alabama with eight rebounds in the first matchup, and Taylor Bol Bowen was the next closest with five. Alabama even had 7-footer Charles Bediako available for that game, and he will not be with the Crimson Tide for the rematch in Knoxville on Saturday. However, the Crimson Tide will have Amari Allen and Aden Holloway back, who missed the first matchup with the Vols while dealing with injuries.

The guards like Holloway, Labaron Philon Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. are where Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats first mentioned wanting to see more production out of in the rebounding department for Saturday's top-25 showdown.

"Philon and Wrightsell have both had double-digit rebounding games in their career," Oats said. "Holloway just had a seven-rebound game against Mississippi State. If he can get in there and strap out five or six, that’d be a tremendous help."

This Tennessee team has the top offensive rebounding rate of any team in college basketball over the last 25 years, so Oats said it's going to a require "a real team effort" to keep the Vols off the offensive glass and limit second-chance opportunities.

"Taylor is back getting healthy," Oats said. "Love his mindset right now. Absolutely love where his head's at. He's playing super hard. You saw him attack the rim trying to finish with some physicality. I think he's got to go in there and really help us on the glass, because he's got the athleticism to go up and get them above the rim. London can do the same. You can look at Aiden and Noah, because they’re our two bigs, and they’re going to have to handle their tough, physical fives. They also have tough, physical fours. Nate Ament averages two o-boards a game. Boswell, their two guard, is averaging almost two o-boards…Everybody’s got to help rebound. Houston’s more than capable. He’s got to be really good for us again, too.”

This a crucial game for the SEC standings as No. 17 Alabama (21-7, 11-4 SEC) and No. 22 Tennessee (20-8, 10-5 SEC) are both fighting for top-four seeding and a double bye in the conference tournament. Alabama is on a seven-game win streak on the season but has lost its last five matchups with the Vols. Keeping things close on the glass will be vital for the Crimson Tide's chances for a road victory on Saturday.