Alabama Basketball Takes First Loss of the Season to Purdue in Premier Road Test

The No. 2 Crimson Tide fell to the No. 13 Boilermakers in a physical battle in West Lafayette.

Nov 15, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) drives toward the basket between Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) and guard Myles Colvin (5) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

After two sloppy single-digit victories over McNeese State and Arkansas State, there was reasonable concern for No. 2 Alabama men’s basketball ahead of its first road game against No. 13 Purdue on Friday.

The Boilermakers had the lead for a heavy majority of the evening and Alabama couldn’t maintain its couple of leads in the second half. The Crimson Tide played at its renowned fast pace when the game was within a couple of points but Purdue slowed down Alabama late and took over with a massive run in the end for a final score of 87-78.

Alabama falls to 3-1 and Purdue climbs to 4-0.

How it Happened

Alabama Basketball vs. Purdue Final Score / Obtained from StatBroadcast

MOST RECENT EVENTS ARE PLACED AT THE TOP.

Second Half

• FINAL: Purdue 87, Alabama 78: Purdue outlasts Alabama's final attempts to even the score with a couple of makes inside plus a few free throws to seal the deal.

• TV Timeout (3:20 left in 2H): Purdue 78, Alabama 71: Alabama's offense has grown silent except for Latrell Wrightsell Jr., whose two recent threes have ended big runs by the Boilermakers. However, it may not be enough.

• Alabama Timeout (8:17 left in 2H): Purdue 72, Alabama 65: Purdue's C.J. Cox explodes for three-straight makes from downtown to help the Boilermakers create a 13-0 run over the last 2:15 and take a 7-point lead.

• TV Timeout (11:17 left in 2H): Alabama 62, Purdue 59: Alabama's renowned fast-paced offense has finally started to show as they're getting it done from behind the arc and on the interior. However, a couple of turnovers, including an offensive foul by Sears, plus a couple of makes inside by the Boilermakers has kept this game at gridlock.

• TV Timeout (15:56 left in 2H): Alabama 51, Purdue 51: Both teams have started to shoot from outside, something they each struggled with to open the game and then abandoned it the rest of the first half. Sears hit his first three of the night, but right after the bucket Cliff Omoruyi was holding his groin and walked gingerly to the bench with under 17 minutes left in regulation. Shortly after, Grant Nelson had an emphatic dunk to quiet the crowd a bit until Loyer's layup tied it.

First Half

• HALFTIME: Purdue 42, Alabama 40: Both teams went inside for better looks to close the half, which drew fouls. Alabama took its first lead of the night after Sears' FTs and took its 2nd lead in the same method with only a few seconds left. But, Loyer hit from deep at the buzzer.

Alabama vs. Purdue Halftime Stats / Obtained from StatBroadcast

• Purdue Timeout (4:27 left in 1H) Purdue 31, Alabama 30: Alabama has started to hit its shots as Labaron Philon scored seven-straight points for the Tide (now up to 10 total), including Alabama's first three of the night with just under six minutes left in the first half.

• TV Timeout (7:33 left in 1H): Purdue 26, Alabama 21 Alabama forward Mo Dioubate was all over the floor for in just two minutes of action as he nailed four free throw attempts, grabbed two rebounds and a block. But the Tide's physicality slowed down a bit due to the rapid passing by Purdue guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

• TV Timeout (11:31 left in 1H): Purdue 15, Alabama 11: Purdue controlled the boards early but Alabama's sudden jolt of energy evened it up and than took the lead 10-8 in that stat category both offensively and defensively. The Tide is yet to make one from downtown, but the aggressiveness inside is beginning to show.

• TV Timeout (15:09 left in 1H): Purdue 5, Alabama 2: Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn gets the scoreboard running with a three at the shot clock buzzer two whole minutes into the game; Alabama center Cliff Omoruyi gets the Crimson Tide's first bucket with an alley-oop dunk via forward Grant Nelson's pass. Both teams are a combined 3-of-14 to start this heavyweight matchup with some solid defense overall.

Pregame

Alabama Starting Lineup:

• G Mark Sears
• G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
• F Jarin Stevenson
• F Grant Nelson
• C Cliff Omoruyi

Purdue Starting Lineup:

• G Fletcher Loyer
• G Braden Smith
• G GiCarri Harris
• F Trey Kaufman-Renn
• C Will Berg