Alabama vs. Purdue Preview; How to watch, prediction, best bet

The No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide travel to Mackey Arena on Friday Night to take on the No. 13 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in a blockbuster battle. Both squads head into this BIG 10/SEC showdown sporting an undefeated record, while Alabama in particular has the chance to improve to No. 1 in the AP Poll with a massive Quad 1 road victory. Matt Painter’s Boilermakers won’t make it easy for the Crimson Tide however. Despite losing ‘The Big Friendly Giant’, otherwise known as Zach Edey, to the NBA, Purdue has dominated the non-conference schedule so far in 2024.

Both of these programs have championship hopes this season after narrowly missing out of cutting down the nets a year ago. Read down below for our full guide and preview ahead of this SEC/BIG 10 showdown.

How to watch

Tonight’s game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock at 7:00 PM EST as part of the BIG 10’s deal with the streaming service. It’s the first time the Crimson Tide will have a sporting event streamed on the platform, as well as the first time Alabama will appear on a NBC broadcast since Nate Oats and the Tide matched up with Rhode Island on the now canceled ‘NBC Sports Network’ in 2019. Paul Burmeister and Robbie Hummel will be on the call with Caroline Pineda providing reports some the sidelines.

Purdue Boilermakers Team Preview

As mentioned above, Purdue enters 2024 having to fill a gaping hole in offensive production after losing two-time Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey to the NBA. The good news is last year’s runner-up still owns the same phenomenal backcourt that helped Purdue reach to National Championship a season ago.

Point guard Braden Smith and combo guard Fletcher Loyer are likely to carry the Boilermakers offense throughout the season, and so far, it has worked out beyond well. Smith has turned himself into one of the best “stat-sheet stuffers” in the nation (15 points, 9.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds per game), while Loyer (17 points per game) leads Matt Painter’s squad in scoring through three games. Add in junior 6-foot-9 forward Trey Kaufman-Renn’s 15 points per contest, and the Boilermakers have about as good of a three-headed monster as any team in the country.

Purdue’s depth beyond those three is a major question mark, specifically in the front court, but head coach Matt Painter seems willing to play small in order to maximize offensive production over defensive rim protecting. The keys to the Boilermakers season may lie in the hands of freshman guard Gicarri Harris and sophomore forward Camden Heide. The 6-foot-7 Heide will need to continue earning more minutes as a rim-protecting, defensive rebounding option in Painter’s rotation, while the freshman Harris will hope to develop into a depth option behind Smith and Loyer.

Alabama Crimson Tide Team Preview

Alabama comes into this heavyweight matchup as the second-best team in the nation for a reason. The core of the Nate Oats-led Crimson Tide that reached the Final Four a season ago mostly remains in tact, with reigning SEC Player of the Year Mark Sears back to play the lead role. Sears (18 points per game) along with seniors Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (12.3 points per game) and Grant Nelson (12 points, 5.7 rebounds per game) lead Alabama’s high-octane offensive attack while newcomers Labaron Philon and Clifford Omoruyi were brought in to help anchor the defensive side.

Alabama may have the best starting five in all of college basketball, but the depth beyond that is what needs to get better if Nate Oats hopes to cut down the nets in March. Former Auburn Tiger and five-star recruit Aden Holloway transferred to Tuscaloosa hoping to earn more minutes and become a focal point of the offense, but the shooting struggles he faced as a freshman have plagued him again so far this fall. Forwards Derrion Reid and Jarin Stevenson are both underclassman receiving near 20 minutes per game off the bench as well.

Nate Oats showed last year that he was willing to play a short rotation, and he did so successfully, but having only five starting caliber players, albeit great ones, is a dangerous strategy.

Best bet.

I talked about Braden Smith’s ability to stuff the stat sheet earlier. I absolutely love the junior to continue penciling his name all over the scores table tonight. Tonight’s matchup currently is producing an over/under just shy of 165 points, and considering the final score was 92-86 when these programs matched up a year ago, I see no reason that line is off.

Smith’s over/under for Points + Assists is currently sitting at 20.5 or 21.5 depending on the book, and I like the guard to soar over that total. My conservative projection for Smith is 16 points and 8 assists, but I would not be surprised at all to see him finish with something closer 22 points and 12 dimes in a game that should be back-and-forth, appointment television.

Prediction

Purdue won this matchup last year, but the loss of Zach Edey will be too much to overcome in a high-scoring affair. Mackey Arena’s energy will help the Boilermakers stay close, but Alabama’s talent, specifically Mark Sears, will be too much to overcome.

Alabama improves to 4-0, 85-80.