Alabama went a perfect 3-0 in its exhibition slate this preseason, including wins over two SEC opponents in Ole Miss and Auburn. Doing that without two of its three primary initiators in Aden Holloway and Anderson Diaz is impressive.
But the record in the preseason is irrelevant. Nobody is hanging a banner for winning three games that don't count.
What does matter is making progress as a team and what you put on tape. Alabama has plenty of positive takeaways from the three games, but at least one major concern. And it's a familiar one for Nate Oats.
Rebounding.
Alabama finished last season ranked 295th in defensive rebounding rate on KenPom. Oats spent the offseason trying to get bigger and tougher. He added three transfer bigs: Drew Fielder, Brandon Garrison, and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
Playing without Holloway and Diaz, everyone in the Crimson Tide's rotation is 6-foot-5 or taller. And yet, Alabama still finished the matchup against Auburn on Thursday night a -9 in rebounding. They allowed the Tigers to corral 22 offensive boards, which led to the game being much closer down the stretch than it probably should have been considering Alabama held Auburn to just 33% shooting from the floor.
Nate Oats sounds an early alarm on Alabama's rebounding issues in the preseason
Oats was clearly frustrated by the issues on the glass in his postgame press conference.
“Rebounding has been an issue with us. It was an issue again tonight," Oats said. "We’ve got to figure this thing out. We give up 22 O-boards tonight; it’s a major problem. ...We have big lineups out there and still are not rebounding the ball very well. So it’s a major concern.
Alabama's defense has played well in the preseason, but no amount of good defense matters if you aren't clearing possessions. Giving second- and third-chance opportunities to the opposing team is a recipe for disaster. It nearly cost Alabama against Auburn, and it will cost the Tide games this season if it doesn't get shored up.
And Oats is right. This was the time for the Tide to be outright dominant on the glass. Everyone in the rotation right now is big. So what does it look like when Holloway and Diaz get on the court?
Oats is right to be concerned. Fortunately, that's what playing these exhibition games is all about. You want your weaknesses exposed. Alabama's issues rebounding got exposed by Auburn. That's a good thing.
Now Oats has plenty of time to fix it. Alabama has 12 days between "The Feud" and its regular season opener on November 3rd against Sam Houston. While the non-conference schedule is once again loaded, it gets off to a friendly start.
Alabama plays five straight games in Coleman Coliseum to open the year against Sam Houston, Arkansas State, Oakland, Seton Hall, and Kennesaw State before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival.
There's plenty of time to work out the kinks during that five-game stretch before the gauntlet begins.
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