The SEC just keeps on delivering massive games, with #5 Alabama and #10 Texas A&M due to face off in College Station on Saturday. The Crimson Tide cruised over another tough opponent in South Carolina on Wednesday, while the Aggies survived a brutal affair against #17 Oklahoma the same evening. Here are the keys to the game for Saturday’s can’t-miss clash.
The Importance of Rebounding Cannot Be Overstated for Alabama and Texas A&M
It is going to be a grown man’s affair on the boards this Saturday, with Alabama and Texas A&M being two of the top four teams in the country in total rebounding. Both programs are averaging over 42 rebounds per game thanks to tremendous positional rebounding and incredible frontcourt depth. For the Tide, seniors Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi combine for 15 rebounds per contest. Both players are great athletes at 6′ 11″, making them very tough to deal with.
Texas A&M, while being a fantastic rebounding team in their own right, is going to find themselves at a height disadvantage come the weekend. Although they typically own the offensive glass via players playing much bigger than they are, the Aggies’ starting lineup has an average height of just under 6′ 6″, with their tallest player being Henry Coleman III, who stands at just 6′ 8″. Alabama’s imposing frontcourt may present problems for Buzz Williams’ team.
Texas A&M has games like this where they shoot 30% but can win anyway because of bully bull and rebounding.
But on the few occasions they don’t dominate the glass they are ordinary.
What happens when your roster can’t make shots.
— Florida Basketball Hour (@FloridaBBHour) January 9, 2025
In Alabama’s recent contest against Oklahoma, they dominated the boards 51-26. On Wednesday, Texas A&M edged out the Sooners on the boards by just 5. If Texas A&M finds themselves down double-digits in the rebounding column, it will be hard to envision a favorable scoreline.
Bench Production Has Been Vital for Alabama This Season
Alabama’s #1 scoring offense in the country has as much to do with their bench as anything this season. Bama have two great scorers off the bench in Derrion Reid and Chris Youngblood, as well as good energy players in Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Diabate. Against South Carolina, Nate Oates had four players deliver 7 or more points off the bench. Aden Holloway led the team off the bench with 13 and Reid, Diabate, and Aiden Sherrell all shot efficiently and chipped in their fair share as well. The bench also contributed 11 rebounds and 7 steals.
Big time move from D-Reid!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/zlCiC4ytBd
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 9, 2025
Bama should have the edge in bench points, as Texas A&M’s only real scoring threat off the bench has been Pharrel Payne. The junior was a perfect 3-3 from the floor against Oklahoma and made all 4 free throws in a 10-point effort.
Will the Aggies Have Star Guard Wade Taylor IV?
Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV missed the Oklahoma game with a knee issue. Will he be back for Saturday’s game? Signs point to yes after there was some optimism regarding his availability against Oklahoma. Hopefully a few day’s rest will allow Taylor to be ready for Saturday.
Without Taylor, the Aggies offense struggled for large stretches against Oklahoma. They were down by double-digits for most of the game until they stormed to a late comeback. Senior guard Zhuric Phelps relished his opportunity to make up for Taylor’s absence, putting up 25 shots and scoring a whopping 34 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final 20 seconds. Phelps was 6-10 in his “legacy game” and frankly shot Texas A&M back into the game in the second half. That being said, the entire Aggies roster showed great fight in the latter period, shooting over 53% as a team en route to a massive comeback win.
Zhuric Phelps nails to go-ahead three after a Jeremiah Fears missed front-end.
Texas A&M leads Oklahoma 80-78. pic.twitter.com/HrpFpY3SMX
— Made For March (@madeformarch) January 9, 2025
If Taylor can get close to keeping up with Alabama’s Mark Sears, and Phelps can continue his hot streak to stay pace with Labaron Philon, then Texas A&M should find themselves in the game and with every chance to take the victory and defend home court.
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