After the first two games of their 2025-26 season, the mission was accomplished for the Purdue Boilermakers.
Come Thursday, their assignment gets markedly more difficult.
The Boilers, 2-0 and ranked #2 in the AP poll and #1 by the coaches this week, will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the #8/9 Alabama Crimson Tide, in a marquee early-season matchup on Thursday, November 13. It will be the first road test of the young season for Purdue, and this game will speak volumes about where they actually are compared to the lofty expectations bestowed upon them. In their first two outings —victories over Evansville and Oakland —the Boilers were at times outplayed and outhustled, especially on the boards and on the defensive end. Thursday offers head coach Matt Painter and his guys a chance to display the production worthy of a top ranking.
Alabama, which also won its first two games, including a win over another top-5 opponent, welcomes Purdue with more than just a third win in mind. All one has to do is turn back the calendar to this week last year to find all the motivation the Crimson Tide needs for this year’s meeting.
The roles of the two teams were nearly reversed 365 days ago; Alabama, then ranked #2, was the road team that traveled to face a top-15 Purdue squad. The home-court advantage spurred the Boilers to a rousing 87-78 come-from-behind victory that set the tone for the rest of their season.
Boilermaker forward Trey Kaufman-Renn used the contest to break out and let the country know he was a legitimate All-American candidate. The junior busted out for 26 points, which was then his career-high, and was the focal point of turning a six-point deficit midway through the second half around with a 13-0 run.
As a result, Purdue improved to 4-0 on its way to the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA tournament. Alabama, which was one win away from a second consecutive Final Four appearance last year, has had all year to fester its wounds and looks for payback in 2025.
Purdue will have its hands full on Thursday, and they realized that after watching the film of Alabama’s most recent game.
The Crimson Tide comes into the game against Purdue hot. They went into New York City and beat #5 St. John’s 103-96 on Saturday, November 8, at Madison Square Garden, announcing their presence to the college basketball world with authority. The victory marked the eighth time head coach Nate Oats‘ teams have defeated a top-5 opponent, and they will be gunning to make it nine on Thursday.
Sophomore guard Labaron Philon, Jr. broke his career high with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Aden Holloway, a junior guard, added 21 points in the winning effort.
Containing Alabama’s backcourt duo will most likely be at the top of Painter’s priority list, especially after his team’s subpar effort on the defensive end against Oakland. Oats likes his guards’ chances of holding up against the likes of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, who are the likely candidates to check Philon and Holloway.
“Our backcourt had two turnovers on the day; we had seven as a team and five came from the frontcourt,” Oats said after the St. John’s game. “I thought the guards did a great job handling the pressure on the press and the super physical half court. “
In addition to maintaining control on the perimeter, Painter and his frontcourt must figure out a way to keep Alabama’s bigs off the glass.
Painter understood his team needed to address its rebounding situation; the Boilermakers were simply not good enough on the glass to advance in March. It’s why bringing Oscar Cluff to West Lafayette was such an important addition to the roster if Purdue wanted to be a legitimate title contender.
To his credit, Cluff is averaging 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. While that is all well and good, the 6-foot-11 center feels much needs to be done in order for the Boilers to succeed.
“I’m going to be honest and say very average,” Cluff said of Purdue’s rebounding efforts after losing the battle on the glass 39-37 to Oakland. “We’ve got a long way to go, but it’s only November.”
The absence of Kaufman-Renn in the first two ball games was a considerable variable in their rebounding woes. Painter believes Purdue, who may or may not have TKR on Thursday, needs to figure out a way to gain the advantage in that area through their effort.
“I think it’s just embracing the physicality of the game,” Painter said on Friday. “When you get behind plays and try to rebound, it’s going to be harder. When you don’t get behind plays, you should have good rebound balance. We weren’t getting those.”
Rebounding is regarded as a skill based on effort and desire. Purdue will need to have all deploy the same effort and desire for 40 minutes in order to return to West Lafayette undefeated.
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