Kentucky must now play the best rebounding team in the country without Teonni Key

A lot of things went wrong in Kentucky’s 13-point loss at Alabama, and it was very clear that Teonni Key was missed. Does Kentucky win the game with her in? That’s hard to say, but it’s clear that her athleticism and 6-foot-5 frame would have certainly helped.

Alabama won the battle on the glass 40-38 and reeled in 13 offensive rebounds. Aside from that, the Crimson Tide also had 26 points in the paint compared to Kentucky’s 12. With Clara Strack and Tonie Morgan going a combined 5-26 (0-6 3PT) from the field, it would have been nice to have Key to help make up for their lack of scoring production.

The worst part about all of that? A big, big spyglass was just set on Kentucky’s imperfections, and outside of Texas and South Carolina, there’s no team in the SEC that could exploit Kentucky’s weaknesses more than Oklahoma, who the Cats host on Sunday in Historic Memorial Coliseum.

The Sooners reel in an average of 52.3 rebounds per game, which ranks first in the country. They average 36.5 defensive rebounds per game, which is also good enough for first in the country.

Oklahoma, ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Poll, is a lot like Kentucky. They have solid talent and athleticism across the board, like to shoot the three even though they don’t always hit it, like to move the ball around, are well-coached and also coming off a loss.

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No. 18 Ole Miss marched onto Oklahoma’s court and handed the Sooners a 74-69 loss on Sunday. So, to keep adding to the similarities between Kentucky and Oklahoma, they’ll both be eager to get a big-time win to right their ships for the rest of SEC play.

Additionally, Oklahoma ranks third in the country in average rebound margin (15.8), but Kentucky isn’t too far behind, tied for 13th in the country in that department (11.4). If Kentucky is going to beat Oklahoma on Sunday, they’ll have to try to keep that margin from getting super out of hand.

The Sooners’ top rebounder is All-American candidate Raegan Beers, who reels in 11.4 rebounds per game. Clara Strack will most likely be matched up against her, but it’ll have to be a complete team effort from the Cats in order to take down yet another top five team.