Preview: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 8 Alabama

• What: Non-conference game
• Date: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025
• Tipoff time: 7 p.m. ET
• Location: Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (15,383)
• TV: ESPN2
• App: ESPN App
• TV announcers: Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
• Radio: Purdue Global Radio Network — WAZY 96.5 FM (Lafayette); WKJG 100.9 FM (Fort Wayne); WNDE 1260 AM (Indianapolis); WGBF 1280 (Evansville); Sirius XM 139 or 196; View all listings: CLICK HERE
• Radio announcers: Rob Blackman (play-by-play), Bobby Riddell (analyst), Wes Scott (producer).
• Live stats: Purdue.StatBroadcast.com
• Series history: Purdue leads the all-time series vs. Alabama 7-3
• Last meeting: Purdue defeated Alabama 87-78 on Nov. 15, 2024, in West Lafayette, Ind.

Rankings

Purdue Boilermakers

• Associated Press — Purdue is ranked No. 2
• Coaches — Purdue is ranked No. 1
• KenPom — Purdue is ranked No. 7
• NET — Not available

Alabama Crimson Tide

• Associated Press — Alabama is ranked No. 8
• Coaches — Alabama is ranked No. 9
• KenPom — Alabama is ranked No. 18
• NET — Not available

Team stats

Key Players

Purdue Boilermakers

• Braden Smith, G — Smith is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, a National Player of the Year candidate, and arguably the best point guard in college basketball. He already owns Purdue's all-time assist record and is chasing Bobby Hurley's NCAA record this season. He completely took over the game in Purdue's 87-77 win over Oakland, scoring 21 points, dishing out nine assists, and grabbing seven rebounds.

• Fletcher Loyer, G — Talk about starting your senior season off on the right foot. Loyer scored a career-high 30 points and made 8-of-11 shots from the floor, which included a 7-of-10 night from behind the three-point line in Purdue's season opener against Evansville. Loyer has been a 44% three-point shooter each of the last two seasons and is among the country's best threats from long distance. He's averaging 22.5 points per game in the first two contests.

• Trey Kaufman-Renn, F — Kaufman-Renn did not play in Purdue's first two games, trying to heal from a hip pointer and a sore back. So, there may be some rust, but the senior forward is one of the most physical players in college basketball. Kaufman-Renn was a first-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago after averaging 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He also finished the year with more made field goals than any other player in college basketball.

• Oscar Cluff, C — Cluff looks much more comfortable through the first two regular-season games. He's already averaging 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He's also blocked five shots across two games, providing the Boilermakers with some much-needed post presence on the defensive end. He's stepped up in a big way in the absence of Kaufman-Renn through the first two games.

Alabama Crimson Tide

• Labaron Philon Jr., G — Philon received SEC All-Freshman honors last season and has taken on an even bigger role with the Crimson Tide this season. He put together an outstanding performance in Alabama's 103-96 win over St. John's, scoring 25 points, dishing out three assists, and collecting three rebounds. He also had a 22-point, eight-assist outing in the team's season opener against North Dakota.

• Amari Allen, F — Coming off the bench, Allen has been Alabama's top rebounder through the first two games. He's tough to keep off the glass, even with his 6-foot-8 frame, collecting 10 boards in the win over St. Johnson. He's a do-it-all forward who is averaging 9.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest.

• Houston Mallette, G — Mallette is a big guard at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds. Not only is he a productive scorer, but he's a strong rebounder for his size. He scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide in the win over North Dakota to open the year. He's coming off a season in which he appeared in just two games for the Crimson Tide, but has still managed to find himself in the starting lineup.

• Latrell Wrightsell Jr., G — In just 22 minutes of action for the Crimson Tide, Wrightsell scored 17 points, grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists, and had four steals against St. John's on Saturday. Wrightsell is another talented guard on Alabama's roster capable of doing a lot of things on the floor. He's one of the team's better defenders and can cause problems in the backcourt.

The Coaches

Matt Painter, Purdue

Painter is in his 21st season at Purdue and his 22nd year overall with the Boilermakers. In that time, he's led the program to five Big Ten regular season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, and a trip to the National Championship Game in 2024.

A lot of Purdue's success has come in the last decade, with the Boilers adding four Big Ten championships to their collection since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Painter has had four different players win the Big Ten Player of the Year Award five times: JaJuan Johnson (2010), Caleb Swanigan (2017), Zach Edey (2023, 2024), and Braden Smith (2025).

Painter is a Purdue alum, playing under legendary coach Gene Keady from 1989-93. After his playing career ended, he jumped right into coaching, working as an assistant at Washington & Jefferson (Division III) and Barton (Division II) before getting a job at Eastern Illinois (1995 to 1998). Painter then joined former Purdue assistant coach Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois as an assistant from 1998 through 2003. Painter then became head coach of the Salukis for the 2003-04 season.

In 2004, Painter returned to Purdue as the associate head coach alongside Keady before taking over the program for the 2005-06 season.

• Overall record: 498-220
• Record at Purdue: 473-215

Nate Oats, Alabama

Oats is in his seventh year at Alabama and 11th season as a head coach. After a rocky first season in 2019-20, Oats has guided the Crimson Tide to new heights in the SEC. They have finished in the top five of the league standings each of the last five seasons, which includes two SEC regular season championships and two conference tournament titles. Alabama has also reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons, which includes four Sweet 16 trips, two Elite Eight appearances, and one Final Four berth (2024).

Before taking over at Alabama, Oats was the head coach at Buffalo for four seasons (2015-19). He led the Bulls to back-to-back MAC regular season and conference tournament titles in 2018 and 2019. Buffalo made the NCAA Tournament both years and reached the Round of 32.

Oats worked his way up in the coaching ranks. He started out as an assistant at Maranatha Baptist (Wisconsin), his alma mater, from 1997-2000. He was then an assistant at Wisconsin-Whitewater for two seasons before taking over as head coach at Romulus High School in Michigan (2002-13). After a decade, Oats got a job as an assistant at Buffalo, serving for two seasons before being named head coach.

In his 11th season, Oats is approaching 250 career wins and is one of the top coaches in college basketball.

• Overall record: 243-106
• Record at Alabama: 147-63

Preview

If you love efficient, high-scoring basketball, Thursday night's matchup between Purdue and Alabama is right up your alley. Both the Boilermakers and Crimson Tide can score a lot of points and are among the best offensive teams in the country.

The last two matchups between Purdue and Alabama have been track meets, with the Boilers winning the 2023 matchup 92-86 and last year's clash 87-78. Expect to see another high-scoring affair in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night.

The matchup between Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. and Purdue's Braden Smith might be one of the best of the non-conference slate. Philon has been Alabama's top scorer and passer through two games, which included a 25-point performance in Saturday's win over St. John's.

Smith demonstrated the ability to take over a game in Purdue's victory over Oakland on Friday, scoring 21 points, dishing out nine assists, and collecting seven boards in a closer-than-expected outcome.

Really, the big news surrounding Thursday's game is that Purdue All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn plans to return to the lineup after missing the first two games. How will Alabama's big men handle the senior forward, who scored 26 points against the Crimson Tide last season?

Alabama has some extremely skilled guards on the roster, including Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell, and Houston Mallette, along with Philon. That group can put pressure on Purdue's defense, especially a group that has struggled to keep opponents out of the paint through two games.

Purdue does have tremendous shooters in Fletcher Loyer, CJ Cox, and Gicarri Harris, but this game could come down to the Boilermakers' presence in the post. Purdue needs good production from Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen on both ends of the floor.

Buckle up, this should be a high-scoring, fast-paces basketball game in Tuscaloosa.