Alabama Basketball: 2021-22 keys for Crimson Tide to win at Auburn

Attack the Defensive Glass

One thing Auburn is very good at (among many) is getting offensive rebounds. One of the main reasons Missouri failed to beat Auburn last week, was because they allowed the Tigers to grab a season-high 23 offensive rebounds, to Missouri’s 28 defensive rebounds.

That being said, they gave Auburn 23 opportunities at a second-chance basket, and because of it, Auburn was able to put up 70 total shots, while Missouri had only 52. Anytime you’re allowing your opponent to shoot 18 shots more than you, chances are the game isn’t going to go your way.

When Alabama and Auburn faced off three weeks ago the Tigers grabbed only eight offensive rebounds, four lower than their season average of 12.2 offensive rebounds per game. With this, the Tide gave themselves the possibility of beating Auburn but unfortunately, we’re not able to pull off the upset.

If Alabama can prevent Auburn from constantly getting second-chance opportunities, then the Tide MIGHT be able to beat a team currently ranked in the top-10 for the fourth time this season. What this means is they’ll need Juwan Gary, Charles Bediako, and Noah Gurley to box out, and be fighting for every rebound on both ends of the floor, because in the end, like we saw in the game against Missouri last week, a second-chance basket might just be the difference between a win and a loss.