Auburn men’s basketball’s upset loss to Texas A&M Tuesday largely came down to one thing: Rebounding.

The Aggies outrebounded the Tigers 41-25, grabbing 24 offensive boards. That set a new Auburn season high for offensive rebounds allowed and led to 29 second chance points.

It’s hard to beat anyone when giving up those numbers, especially a team like Texas A&M who specializes in taking advantage of extra opportunities.

Against Alabama, Auburn will have a similar challenge. The Crimson Tide ranks 29th in offensive rebound percentage, per KenPom, and grabbed 14 offensive boards in the two teams’ first matchup this season.

It’s a challenge Pearl acknowledged when speaking with reporters Friday morning, pointing out that rebounding has hurt Auburn in multiple losses this season.

Pearl was asked how much of the rebounding struggles against Texas A&M had to do with schematic issues that can be adjusted or effort fighting for the ball. His answer was complex, saying that there are two aspects to Auburn’s recent difficulties.

Against Texas A&M, Pearl said Auburn’s “inability to keep them in front” hurt the Tigers.

“When they go by us, if help is drawn — which clearly Texas A&M drew help — then your backside rebounding is exposed, and that’s where all of those tip dunks take place,” Pearl said. “We held Texas A&M to about 33% shooting on their first shots, and they had about 76% on their second shots because they were all tip dunks.”

Against Alabama, Pearl said the defensive challenge is even tougher due to Alabama’s ability to finish at the rim. The Crimson Tide shoots 59.8% from 2-point range, ranking third in the country, per KenPom.

That’s significantly higher than Texas A&M at 48.6%, putting even more strain on Auburn’s defense and requiring more help on first shot attempts, exposing the backside rebounding even more.

However, even with all the scheming that goes into playing defense and being in position to rebound, Pearl acknowledged that part of the battle still comes down to effort.

“There obviously is, at the end of the day, a will,” Pearl said. “I’m beyond mystified at the kind of contact that is allowed, whether it be at a free throw checkout situation where guys are just running through each other. And so, as a result, you’ve got to be able to hold your ground and then some.”

Texas A&M is one of the most physical teams in the country, which seemed to cause problems for Auburn Tuesday night. Pearl even said after the game that “the scouting report is out” on the Tigers, and that “the best way to beat Auburn is to hit them in the mouth.”

Similar issues with physicality and size were on display against Duke and Florida, and both games resulted in Auburn losses.

“What do they all have in common?” Pearl said when talking about the best teams on Auburn’s schedule. “They’re all big, they’re all tall, they’re all long, they’re strong, they’re physical, they’re older. So, you want to beat the best teams on your schedule, then you have to deal with that physicality.”

Auburn matched the physicality enough to beat teams like Alabama, Tennessee, Iowa State and Houston, but it will likely take another gritty effort to complete the sweep over the Crimson Tide Saturday afternoon.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m