Taylor Bol Bowen Takes Responsibility for Lack of Rebounds

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - One of the biggest issues with Alabama men's basketball over the last half-decade reared its ugly head again in Thursday's 87-80 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers: rebounding the basketball. Alabama was out-rebounded by Purdue 52-28 on Thursday night, as Alabama fell to 2-1 on the young 2025-26 college basketball season. For the last four losses for Alabama (Florida x2, Duke, Purdue), the Crimson Tide was out-rebounded by the opposing team.

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Alabama head coach Nate Oats applied pressure on his team by scheduling tough opponents such as St. John's and Purdue in back-to-back games to start this season, and told the team during the week of practice how important rebounding would be against a Purdue team that often boasts some of the biggest lineups in college basketball.

"We've got issues on the glass," Oats said on Thursday after the seven-point loss. "We knew it in our exhibition games. We knew it in our intrasquad scrimmages, we knew it. Up at St. John's, we did a pretty good job - we out-rebounded them by one. ... For whatever reason, we couldn't do it tonight.

"We've been sounding the alarm on the rebounding deal. It got exposed tonight," Oats continued. "Our guys are gonna have to decide whether they want to have a good season or whether they're just gonna out-toughed every game the rest of the year."

Toughness is a mantra that has followed Oats and Alabama basketball ever since he arrived at Alabama. "Blue collar points" are a stat that the Crimson Tide's coaching staff tracks, and players can earn blue-collar points based on making 'tough' plays: diving for loose balls, drawing fouls, collecting rebounds, etc. 'Blue Collar Basketball' has been what drives this basketball team for years, but time and time again, Alabama falls short against bigger teams (UConn, Florida, Duke, Purdue).

Alabama forward Taylor Bol Bowen shouldered the blame for the rebounding disparity on Thursday in the postgame press conference.

"I think that we need to match their physicality," Bol Bowen said. "I definitely take a lot of responsibility for the lack of rebounding. I feel like it's something to learn from, for sure."

The responsibility should fall on more than just the first-year Florida State transfer, who only collected two boards on Thursday night. Alabama's big man, Aiden Sherrell, only collected four, and Amari Allen also had four. Alabama sophomore guard Labaron Philon had four on the night to go along with his 11 points and seven assists. Meanwhile, 6-foot-tall Purdue guard Braden Smith was able to collect seven against the Crimson Tide.

The learning curve was always going to be steep when you looked at Alabama's nonconference schedule to start the season, with two top-ten matchups against St. John's and Purdue back-to-back. Alabama going 1-1 in those two matchups shows this year's iteration of blue-collar basketball has the talent, but the loss to Purdue tested the physicality of this year's team. Alabama will have a chance to respond next Wednesday, when it takes on No. 14 Illinois in Chicago.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.