#2 Alabama and #14 Purdue faces off again
Last year, Purdue and Alabama met in Toronto to play. It was a 92-86 win for Purdue that saw Zach Edey and Mark Sears go for 35 points but the Boilers were able to survive an Alabama flurry of 19 made threes by dominating inside and getting to the free throw line.
Now, Zach Edey is gone, but Sears remains for Alabama, explaining how the two 3-0 teams features a #14 Purdue ranking and a #2 Alabama.
It wasn't the only court the two teams shared. Purdue and Alabama both made it to Phoenix and the Final Four last season with Alabama losing to UConn in the Final Four and Purdue falling to UConn in the National Title Game.
Now both teams will try to prove themselves in their first ranked match-up of the season. We'll have a full preview tomorrow, but before that, here are some of Purdue's keys for continuuing its 38 game non-conference win streak.
Take advantage of Aiden Sherrell minutes
Aiden Sherrell is a very talented freshmen with a lot of stars in his recruiting profile. He's also in just his fourth career college game. He's done a tremendous job on the glass on both sides of the ball, which should concern a Purdue team that has yet to dominate either side of the glass.
But Sherrell is also a traditional big on the defensive side of the ball that's not been aggressive protecting the rim or getting into action. When Sherrell is on the floor, look for Smith to try and attack him every possession in the pick and roll.
Sherrell's presence will also allow Purdue to play. more traditional. Expect Will Berg to play mostly while Sherrell is on the floor as the game progresses. Sherrell will shoot threes, but he's yet to make one on the season. Purdue will be fine with offense running through Sherrell on the perimeter.
Which is important for Purdue. There's not many players that Purdue will be comfortable helping off of. Everyone on Bama can shoot, but Sherrell offers a point where Purdue can provide help or not need to switch right away. Being a freshmen, he also looks like a vulnerable piece on defense.
When Sherrell isn't on the floor, Purdue's going to have a lot tougher time with its defensive assignments. Which leads us to our next point.
