Alabama Basketball: 3 keys for Crimson Tide to stay hot against Oklahoma.

Crash the glass

Alabama has an opportunity to really take advantage on the glass in this matchup. Alabama currently ranks 13th in the NCAA in rebound differential where they sit at +7.6 on the season. They seem to thrive on the offensive glass, where they average 13.5 offensive rebounds per game.

That kind of offensive rebound production allows them to get open looks from 3-point range because often the best time to take a 3-point shot is off an offensive rebound when the defense is scrambling to get find open shooters on the perimeter.

Oklahoma is currently on the opposite end of the spectrum regarding rebounding statistics. The Sooners currently sit at a +.8 rebounding differential which puts them 189th in the NCAA in that category. They average 25.4 defensive rebounds per game which puts them at 154th nationally.

Now when we take a look at the other end of the court the numbers don’t get any less lopsided. Alabama is the #1 team in college basketball when it comes to defensive rebounding with a 32.4 average. For a team that likes to get out and run on offense, this is a very impressive number and a big part of why they’ve been so successful this year.

With the way Alabama rebounds defensively and the lack of offensive rebounding the Sooners get on a nightly basis, it would be a win if they could get their average of 6.7 offensive rebounds per game. Oklahoma is currently 353rd out of 363 teams in the NCAA in that category.

Alabama should easily be able to control the glass on defense and get their fair share of rebounds on the offensive end to put them in a good spot to be able to get the win come Saturday.