Deep Dive Thread for Purdue

Official Gameday Poster courtesy of @AlabamaMBB

The Boilermakers come into Coleman sitting at 2nd in the country at 2-0 after being ranked preseason 1st. Matt Painter is in his 21st season as the head coach and looks to try to get back to the Final Four again as he did in 2024 with Zach Edey. Purdue is led by 6-0 Braden Smith, who last season had the number 2 assist rate in the entire country. Smith, so far this season, is averaging 13/10, which is right on par with the 17/10/6 he put up last season in this matchup in Mackey Arena.  Smith is an elite 3-point shooter, as well, with a shooting percentage over 38%. However, it's in the pick-and-roll game where he can really make you pay.

Smith can do a bit of everything and has hurt Alabama in back-to-back seasons. https://x.com/SLAMonline/status/1986989994997653762?s=20

Their leading scorer from last season is 6-9 Trey Kaufman-Renn. He has not played yet this season due to a hip injury limiting some of his mobility, but is expected to play in this game. Last season against Alabama, he dominated with 26/8/4 and effectively controlled the offense as well as the pace of the game, getting where he wanted and imposing his will. How Alabama defends him in this game will be crucial.

Kaufman-Renn was a difference maker last season and will look to be one in this game as well. https://x.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1857618536278986981?s=20

The other returning senior is 6-5 Fletcher Loyer, one of the best shooters in the entire country. Loyer, the last 2 seasons, has shot over 44% from 3 in both seasons. On top of being an elite shooter, he does a great job at defending without fouling, which allows him to play major minutes.

Loyer had the best game of his career earlier this season. https://x.com/ProspectReportt/status/1985878746252148808?s=20

Another guy who had a great game against Alabama last season and has gotten a pair of starts to begin this season is 6-3 CJ Cox. Cox hit 3 huge 3s last season and shot almost 40% from the season, so staying attached to him even when Purdue feeds the post will be super important.

Cox really made us pay for any drops in defense last season. https://x.com/MiddlesexMagic/status/1857621994344272339?s=20

The starting transfer for Purdue is a huge one in 6-11 Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State. Cluff has been one of the best rebounders in the entire country for the past few seasons and does have some experience against Alabama as well, when he got 21/15 against us with the Jack Rabbits. Trying to keep him off the offensive glass will be key to limiting their offense.

Cluff can do a bit of everything, so defending him and keeping him off the glass must be a key. https://x.com/KJScouting/status/1875317899457388891?s=20

The last guy who has been starting is one of the freshmen in 6-6 Jack Benter. So far this season, he has been a solid rebounder at his position as well as a 3pt marksman, averaging 46% early this season.

The other 4 guys are much more rotational pieces, but I would expect them to get a bit of playing time in 6-3 Gicarri Harris, 6-4 Omer Mayer, 6-8 Liam Murphy, and 7-4 Daniel Jacobsen. Murphy is a transfer from North Florida and an elite shooter.

As a team, Purdue does a few things incredibly well. They are an elite shooting team at 40% as a team from deep, they rarely turn over the basketball, they assist on almost everything, and they do not put the opposing team on the line much. Offensively, this team is number 1 in the country in efficiency, and that's due to the elite sets that Painter runs, and defensively, they try to keep you off the foul line.

Alabama in this game will need to do a few things well. Purdue has not done the best job defensively rebounding this season, so getting the offensive board should help extend possessions. This game will be a tempo battle; last season in Mackey, they held us to just 68 possessions. I expect Nate to try and push that north of 72 because I believe Alabama has superior depth in this game.

My player to watch is Taylor Bol Bowen. Taylor played a huge role in Alabama’s win over St John's in MSG. His defense and physicality against Zuby were huge. Alabama will need another game like that out of him, defending Kaufman-Renn in this one. Alabama struggled last season in the post, but if Taylor gives us a game similar to his last, it will go a long way in the success of this game.

Purdue has had success against Alabama the last 2 seasons in Canada and on the road. I suspect that Nate Oats learned a ton last season about what it will take to beat an incredibly good offensive team in Purdue. Alabama showed what they can be on both ends of the floor against St. John’s, but I think this game will go to show everyone that Alabama has arrived and they are a legit threat for it all this season.

Prediction: Alabama 89 - Purdue 84

I broke down this game in more detail over on YouTube. Subscribe for more Alabama Basketball content. https://youtu.be/o1SV00pACU0