Tale of the Tape, No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 2 Alabama: All Things CW

What's the difference between the Boilermakers and Crimson Tide on paper? Both not a lot, and a whole lot.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 1

The Alabama Crimson Tide is No. 2 in the latest college basketball polls, the program's best ranking in 20 years.

Purdue was at No. 1, but the ballots were far from unanimous. 

The Boilermakers received 39 first-place votes from the 62-person panel for the AP Top 25. Alabama climbed two spots to No. 2, picking up 23 first-place votes for its highest ranking since reaching No. 1 in 2002-03. 

That's also the only time the Crimson Tide has been No. 1 in poll history. 

Nate Oats has his team knocking on the door for the top spot, and if current trends continue it may not even take a Purdue loss for it to happen. 

Purdue had dropped to No. 3 after four weeks at No. 1 following a loss to Rutgers on Jan. 3. The Boilermakers have won six straight, but three were by three points or fewer. 

Meanwhile, it's going to be nearly impossible for Purdue to impress voters the rest of the regular season as the rest of the Big Ten has fallen off. With Rutgers dropping out, the Big Ten has just one AP Top 25 team for the first time since Feb. 16, 2004, when No. 12 Wisconsin was the conference’s lone ranked team, according to Sportradar.

Alabama? It doesn't have that problem in the SEC, with looming back-to-back games at No. 4 Tennessee and No. 15 Auburn coming up in a couple of weeks. 

No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers 

Record: 19-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten 

Preseason rank: Not ranked 

Biggest win: Won Phil Knight Legacy by defeating then No. 6 Gonzaga 84-66, and then-No. 8 Duke 75-56. 

Loss: At home to Rutgers, 65-64, Jan. 2 

Current winning streak: 6 

Record against ranked teams: 3-0

Quad wins: Purdue is one of two teams (Kansas) with seven quad-1 wins, five of them against teams ranked in the NCAA Net's top 30 (Gonzaga, Ohio State, West Virginia, Marquette, Duke). Six of the wins (Marquette being the other) have come away from home.

Defensive efficiency: No. 21. Purdue has held 20 straight opponents to 70 points or less, the second-longest streak in the country (Saint Mary's - 21)

Rebounding: Leads nation in total rebounding percentage

NCAA NET rankings: No. 4

Bracketology: Top overall seed 

KenPom ranking: No. 5 

Strength of schedule: No. 21

Remaining schedule: No ranked opponents on schedule, Purdue is the Big Ten's lone ranked team this week. 

at Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
at Indiana
Iowa
at Northwestern
at Maryland
Ohio State
Indiana
at Wisconsin
Illinois

Schedule note: Purdue is just off what it calls a historic "four-in-five" road-game stretch, winning all five games including all four on the road. In the 10 occurrences that Purdue had four road games in a five-game stretch, the Boilermakers never previously posted a 5-0 record.

The big man: Zach Edey ranks No. 1 in the KenPom POY ratings and has been the game MVP in 15 of the 19 Purdue games that he has played in (missed New Orleans with the flu). Edey has scored 10 or more points in 36 straight games, the nation's longest streak. Through his 19 games this year, he has more blocked shots (43) than personal fouls (29). Edey is averaging 21.5 points and 13.2 rebounds compared to just 1.5 fouls per game. 

No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide 

Record: 17-2 overall, 7-0 SEC

Preseason rank: No. 20

Biggest win: Alabama defeated then No. 1 North Carolina in the Phil Knight Invitational, and then won at then-No. 1 Houston, 71-65, to become just fourth team to ever beat two different AP No. 1s in the same season. It was the first team to so before New Year's Day since the 1955-56 season.  

Losses: To then No. 20 UConn in the Phil Knight Invitational,  82-67, and to then No. 15 Gonzaga on Dec. 17, 100-90. Both defeats were on neutral courts. 

Current winning streak: 8

Record against ranked teams: 5-2

Quad wins: Alabama has five Quad 1 wins this season, which is tied for third-most in the country.

Defensive efficiency: No. 10 

Rebounding: Leads nation in rebounds per game and defensive rebounds. The Crimson Tide is 12th in offensive boards. 

NCAA NET rankings: No. 3

Bracketology: Second overall seed 

KenPom ranking: No. 3

Strength of schedule: No. 1

Remaining schedule: 

Mississippi State
at Oklahoma
Vanderbilt
at LSU
Florida
at No. 15 Auburn
at No. 4 Tennessee
Georgia
at South Carolina
Arkansas
No. 15 Auburn
at Texas A&M

Schedule note: Alabama won all of its first seven SEC games by double digits, by a combined 147 points (593-446). It averages out to a +21.0 scoring margin

The big man: Brandon Miller is averaging 19.8 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country. Heading into the Missouri game he was the only freshman in the country to rank in the top 70 in points and rebounds per game (No. 69). Miller was one of six players in Division I, the only player in the SEC and the only freshman in the country that has scored 360 points and recorded 150 rebounds this season.

See Also:

Last Week, Nate Oats Showed Why He's the Perfect Leader for Alabama Basketball

Full-Court Press: Takeaways from Alabama Basketball at Missouri

No. 4 Alabama Doesn’t Have to Rely on Brandon Miller Every Night