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Alabama Crimson Tide @ Purdue Boilermakers

Current Records: Alabama 2-0, Purdue 2-0

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What to Know

Purdue will be in front of their home fans on Friday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will host the Alabama Crimson Tide at 7:00 p.m. ET at Mackey Arena. Both teams are still undefeated after three-games, but that won't be the case come Friday.

Purdue's offense and defense might be a bit winded after their high-scoring matchup with Yale on Monday. Purdue walked away with a 92-84 victory over Yale.

Purdue can attribute much of their success to Braden Smith, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Trey Kaufman-Renn, who went 5 for 8 en route to 17 points.

Even though they won, Purdue struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only five offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've posted since back in November of 2023.

Meanwhile, Alabama was able to grind out a solid win over McNeese on Monday, taking the game 72-64.

Alabama relied on the efforts of Grant Nelson, who went 6 for 9 en route to 22 points plus eight rebounds, and Mark Sears, who earned 15 points along with five assists. The dominant performance also gave Nelson a new career-high in offensive rebounds (four). Less helpful for Alabama was Aden Holloway's abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.

Purdue's victory was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. As for Alabama, their win bumped their record up to an identical 2-0.

Friday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Purdue has been crazy accurate this season, having drained 54.4% of their field goals per game. However, it's not like Alabama struggles in that department as they've made 49.4% of their field goals this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Purdue beat Alabama 92-86 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. Will Purdue repeat their success, or does Alabama have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.

Odds

Alabama is a slight 2.5-point favorite against Purdue, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Boilermakers as a 1-point favorite.


The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 163 points.

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Series History

Purdue won the only game these two teams have played in the last year.

  • Dec 09, 2023 - Purdue 92 vs. Alabama 86