Alabama Basketball: 2019-20 keys to beat Auburn Tigers at home

3. Win the Rebound Battle

Auburn and Alabama sit atop the SEC when it comes to rebounds per game with Auburn collecting the most and Alabama second. It is because of this that this game will be won or lost on the offensive and defensive boards.

Auburn collects 42.0 rebounds per game with Alabama gathering 41.6, which makes this game that much more interesting. Part of the reason both of these teams collect so many rebounds is their fast-paced play, but more on that later.

Alabama’s top rebounder is John Petty jr. as he collects a total of 7.3 per game, while Auburn’s top rebounder is Austin Wiley who collects 9.2 per game.

This is a tad bit interesting because Petty is a 6’5″ forward while Wiley is a 6’11” center, which might tip the scales a bit in Auburn’s direction.

Alabama has played without a powerhouse big man this season for what feels like the first time in quite a while. The Tide lost Donta Hall who graduated last year after being a large part of Alabama’s team the past couple seasons which left a hole in their frontcourt.

Now, Alabama has been splitting the time down low between Galin Smith, Javian Davis and Alex Reese, but the Tide does not have a single player on this year’s roster who is officially listed as a center.

It is because of this that the frontcourt matchup on Wednesday is going to be quite interesting and Alabama MIGHT have some trouble putting up their 41.6 rebounds per game.

However, if Alabama does manage to collect 40 or more rebounds, you should expect them to give Auburn their first loss of the season.

This will undoubtedly be one of the keys for Alabama to beat Auburn and it will definitely be interesting to see it unfold.