BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Alabama basketball's biggest setback last season looked much different during the 92-84 preseason exhibition victory over Ole Miss on Thursday night.
The Crimson Tide really struggled on the glass during the 2025-26 campaign, and it was among the main factors in UA's losses. This includes the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 against Michigan. The eventual national champion Wolverines stood out for their size, and getting bigger - not just taller - was among Alabama head coach Nate Oats' top priorities.
The Crimson Tide narrowly beat Furman 44-38 on the glass in its first preseason exhibition on Oct. 8. On Thursday, Alabama outrebounded the Rebels 45-28, including a 14-9 win on the offensive glass. The total rebound count would've been tied for Alabama's third-most last season, and the O-boards would've been tied for seventh.
"A lot better than the Furman game," Oats said about the performance on the glass during the postgame press conference. "Now, if you notice, [Ole Miss] was sending a lot of guys back. Our transition game puts some fear in some of these teams. They're a really good defensive team. They didn't want us to score in transition, so they didn't send a ton of guys on the O-boards, which helps on the defensive glass."
Alabama forward Drew Fielder finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Boise State transfer is well aware of the Tide's rebounding woes in 2025-26, and looks forward to fixing them during the regular season.
"That's a big, key emphasis for us," Fielder said after the game. "We know Chris Beard's team is always going to be really tough, so it was a big emphasis. I'm just proud of our freshmen taking that challenge. Really proud of our guys responding to it. It's just a lot of punches and physicality that beat you down throughout that game, so I'm really proud of those freshmen."
While Alabama's rebounding numbers were impressive, like the score, the gap on the glass was even larger. The Crimson Tide nearly led by 20 points during the second half, but it took its foot off the pedal a bit and the Rebels cut it down to as much as three. Ole Miss' extra jolt showed on both sides of the ball.
"I thought once they got downhill and were down 18, they started coming, and we didn't do a great job at that point," Oats said. "So, the rebounding numbers looked really well, we were plus-17. But I'm going to look at once we got up 18, what did they look like from that point? At that point, they started coming a little harder. I didn't think we did a great job."
Ole Miss was Alabama's second scrimmage, with the first being a home win over Furman on Oct. 8 and the next coming against Auburn in Birmingham on Oct. 22.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as Alabama Shows Improvement in Main Weakness From Last Season Against Ole Miss .
