#2 Alabama (3-0) heads into Mackey Arena Friday night to take on #14 Purdue (3-0) in one of the most anticipated non-conference games of the season.


Purdue got the best of Alabama last season, but both teams ended their season in Phoenix, making it to the Final Four before falling to the National Champion UConn Huskies.


While Purdue lost Zach Edey, Alabama returns its star from last season, Mark Sears, who scored 35 points again Purdue in a losing effort.


Both teams are undefeated three games into the 2024-25 campaign and have their eyes set on returning to the Final Four.


While Purdue and Matt Painter might have a reputation for defense in Mackey Arena, if personnel and early season results are any indications, this Purdue team will thrive on the offensive end all season.


Despite early season shooting struggles, Alabama is and will be right there challenging for the best offense in college basketball.


This game has the potential to be one of the highest scoring of the season. Elite offense, untested defenses, and two of the best point guards in the country will square off in West Lafayette on Friday Night.


Purdue will also put its non-conference regular season win streak on the line. Purdue's won 38 straight non-conference games, the fifth longest streak in NCAA history.


Will the streak succumb to the Crimson Tide?

Matt Painter hasn't been thrilled with his defense to start the season. The problem lies in two categories: containing the dribble and grabbing rebounds.


Both will be focuses for a Purdue team that's still trying to adjust to playing defense without Zach Edey to erase mistakes at the rim.

But with an offense as good and powerful as Alabama's, defense might start at the other end.



"When you face just a dynamic offensive team, you can't hurst yourself," Painter said Thursday. "If you want to turn the ball over and take bad shots, they're just going to get in transition and get what they want. Get to the free throw line. Get rhythm threes. Get dunks. You have to do a good job offensively of getting quality shots, taking care of the basketball, and setting your defense."


Purdue's turnovers haven't been perfect through its first three games, but it's gotten better with each game. After an opening night 16 turnover performance, Purdue turned it over just 13 times in its second game and had just 10 against Yale in its third win of the season.



Part of the difficulty of trying to contain Alabama, or perhaps the most difficult part, is trying to slow down the incredible Mark Sears. Sears put 35 on Purdue last year in Toronto, and has scored 18 points a game through the first three games of the season while making 43% of his three-pointers.



Purdue had good practice against Yale with taking on a dangerous perimeter shooter in John Poulakidas. Poulakidas put up 23 points on Purdue on 19 shots, knocking down 5 of his 12 three-point attempts.



Sears is an even more dynamic threat with the ball, and unlike Yale, he's surrounded by similar dangers on the perimeter.

But the Yale game did reveal something that might have repurcussions for the rest of Purdue's season: Myles Colvin might be lurking as Purdue's best perimeter defeneder.

"It wasn't something we saw earlier," Painter said about Colvin's defensive performance against Yale where he took to the Poulakidas assignment and challenged the big shooter in both halves. "We didn't see it in the exhibition games. Didn't see it in the Creighton game... but in the last two games you can say that. He was actually getting upset about guys making tough shots when he didn't make a mistake... It's a good sign for himb ecause he wasn't gonna get himself out of the rut being a one way player."


It's a good thing for Purdue as a whole. With true freshman Daniel Jacobsen going out with a fractured leg, Purdue's big man depth took a hit. While there's still plenty of bodies for Painter to choose, Jacobsen's loss took away Painter's best rim protector.


Now, Painter is having to embrace a more offensive oriented, 'small ball' lineup that features Myles Colvin and Camden Heide at the 3 and 4. That's a much more teneable position when Colvin defends the way he did against Yale. It also helps that Heide and Colvin combined for 11 rebounds.

This will be Purdue's first real test of the season, and that means the first test for Painter's two true freshman guards, Gicarri Harris and CJ Cox, who will both be asked to play big roles throughout the season. Harris will likely draw the Sears assignment to start, and Cox will get it at some point in the game.


"We're gonna throw some young folks at him," Painter said about the different defenders he'll be using to try and contend with Sears. "That's going to be important for them to understand. You have to be resilient and you have to be determined, but you aslo have to be disciplined and understand what the hell is going on."

But the test for Purdue's freshmen will extend past Sears. Alabama has a lot of dangerous shooters and Nate Oates is one of the best offensive minds in basketball. It'll also be the first game where Purdue takes center stage in the national stage this year, including a large collection of NBA scouts and affiliates in attendance for the game.

Their ability to handle the pressure, both from circumstance and Alabama, could go a long way into how Purdue's season goes.

When: Friday November 15th, 7:00 p.m. EST

Where: Mackey Arena

How to watch: Peacock