The Big Ten might have just been put on notice.



Purdue's first three games of the season were about its star trio with Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Braden Smith leading the way through a 3-0 start.



Purdue's fourth win of the season, an 87-78 win over #2 Alabama, was about announcing they aren't alone.

Purdue's win, its 39th straight non-conference regular season victory, featured a true freshman making his first three pointer, another true freshman going on a 9-0 run in the second half, a sophomore continuing to evolve as a defender, and Purdue's only senior playing his best basketball since the last time Purdue played Alabama a year ago in another country.



If this is the team that Purdue is going to be going forward, and the bench continues to play this well, Purdue will be doing more than just winning its third straight Big Ten title.

"We had him down as one of the shooters," Alabama coach Nate Oats said after the game. "His 18 minutes were big... We didn't anticipate him being that good but we definitely knew he could shoot it."

And boy, did CJ Cox shoot it on Friday night in his first career game against a ranked team. The true freshman who came to Purdue with just two D1 offers, and a ranking closer to 300 than 200, helped turn the game for Purdue in the second half.




But I don't know need to tell you what happened. Matt Painter did that after the game.

"The difference in the game, kind of the swing in the game," Painter said in his first answer to media after the win. "Was CJ Cox coming in. He ignited the game. They got up six there. I think, 65-59, and then even though he missed his free throw, he had that run where he scoreda bout 9 in it seemed like a minute. I don't know if it was a minute."

A media member then provided the seconds: "52 seconds."



"How much?" Painter asked.

"52 seconds."



"Yeah," Painter quipped. "That normally does it."



It was an absolute showing by Cox, who started his 9-0 run by hitting a three on a pull up at the left corner while his defender hung on his hip. He drew the foul, missed the free throw, and then went down and hit two more pull-up threes in back to back to back possessions.



Mackey Arena had been turned up all night, but the decibels after a Cox three reached above 123, getting close to an all-time mark in one of college basketball's best environments.

The 9-0 personal run was part of a 13-0 Purdue run that shifted the game from a six point deficit to a seven point lead that would never get within one possession the rest of the way.



Sitting next to Cox on the podium after the game was Fletcher Loyer. This was Cox's first rodeo with a top-five team, but not Loyer's. Loyer has seen this Alabama team a year ago. He's also seen Cox become a human torch before. It didn't surprise him.



"He's made shots on us all summer," Loyer said. "Shots you'd just shake your head at and you're like, 'Man, how did he make that?'"

Caleb Furst is Purdue's only senior. He's still not lost a non-conference game in the regular season in his career. Some of his best games in a Purdue jersey have happened early in the season against top-ranked opponents.


Furst's game against Alabama was no exception. Furst played just over 13 minutes, but he made a big impact, drawing four fouls, grabbing 2 rebounds, and scoring 6 points.


Those 6 points included clutch free throws down the stretch that helped seal the game for Purdue.


"For Caleb to make those free throws at the end," Painter said after the game. "And he plays thirteen and a half minutes. That's very hard to do."



Furst's defensive versatility has really provided a spark for Purdue this early in the season. It was especially useful against an Alabama team that wanted to play small and athletic. Furst offers Purdue a chance to switch at the big man position while adding athleticism and quickness to disrupt opposing team's action on offense.

Burgess still has some conditioning to work through. Painter said after the game again that Burgess has about a good two or three minuets in him before he gasses out.



He made the most of his 4 minutes and 22 seconds against Alabama.


While Burgess' tank would go to empty, before it did, he knocked down the first three pointer of his career. After setting a screen, Burgess released back to the three point line where Loyer found him. Burgess, who came into the night having missed his only other three-point attempt, found the net. He scored again a couple plays later, grabbing an offensive board and getting the put back to go.

Camden Heide played a season-high 23:35 minutes in Purdue's fourth game of the season. Heide's ability to allow Purdue to play small and his ability to crash the glass on a night where second chance points kept Alabama in it, proved to be a clincher in a game that was back and forth for forty minutes.

Heide tied Trey Kaufman-Renn for a team-high 8 rebounds, including 3 offensive rebounds including a big one in the first half where he was able to save the ball and find Fletcher Loyer open for a three.

"I thought Cam Heide gave us a boost with his 8 rebounds," Painter said. "And went and got some basketballs."

Heide finally got a three to fall last game, and that hot shooting continued. Heide had a big three in the second half when Trey Kaufman-Renn found him from the other side of the floor.

Myles Colvin appears to be having a personal evolution over the last three games. Colvin could always score the basketball. Now, after back to back games of providing Matt Painter with someone to defend John Poulakidas and Mark Sears off the bench, it appears Colvin will also be wearing the defensive specialist badge.




"Myles did a really good job," Painter said after the game. "He's going to keep helping himself."

That defense had Colvin on the floor for 20 minutes on Friday. It was one of Colvin's best games of his career even though he didn't attempt a shot.




"Myles Colvin doesn't take a shot and he really helps us win the basketball game," Painter said afterwards. "That's different for him because he's a shot maker. But it kinda shows you now, you want to be a shot maker or you want to be a basketball player?"





The lasting image of Purdue's win might be the usually mild mannered and quiet Colvin making his way up to meet the Purdue student section, standing above the tunnel back into the Purdue locker room.



It seems that Colvin is embracing his new identity. He's starting to make a lot of noise.