Crimson Tide's Comeback Falls Short Against Purdue

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama men's basketball pulled off a major win on Saturday afternoon, defeating then-No. 5 St. John's in Madison Square Garden. The Crimson Tide's reward was a top-two Purdue team, previously ranked No. 1 in the country, in its own arena: Coleman Coliseum. A win would award the Crimson Tide one of the best early-season resumes in college basketball, but a loss wouldn't cripple the Crimson Tide this season, as Oats and Alabama still have plenty of tough games left on the season. Still, the adversity Alabama faced on Thursday night would be formidable, and it would require a full 48 minutes from Oats and his players.

Get our free mobile app

The Crimson Tide faced a size disadvantage in the matchup with the Boilermakers, with Alabama's tallest available player being Noh Williamson (7-foot), and Purdue's being Daniel Jacobsen (7-foot-4). The size issues for Alabama would require the Crimson Tide to be laser sharp from three-point range, and display extra effort when going after boards on both offense and defense, and it was the boards that ultimately cost Alabama the victory, as the Tide was outrebounded by Purdue 52-28.

Alabama started the game hot from three-point range, and it felt that if the Crimson Tide won, it would've been on the right arm of Aden Holloway, who was Alabama's leading scorer and shot over 10 threes on the night. Holloway, in the first half, shot 4-6 from three-point range and led the Crimson Tide with 14 points. Alabama would need him to continue the hot streak into the second half if it got another performance from Labaron Philon like it did in the first half. Where Philon lacked in scoring on Thursday night, he made up for it in assists for the Crimson Tide, leading the team with seven assists, with five coming in the first half.

The three-ball cooled off for Alabama in the second half, however, and second-chance points were the dagger that killed the Crimson Tide in Thursday's game, with Purdue scoring 16 second-chance points on the evening. The success Alabama saw on the glass against St. John's on Saturday did not translate to Thursday night, and it was the lack of rebounds that ended any comeback chance for Alabama on Thursday. Purdue held on through Alabama's late-game desperation fouling to defeat the Crimson Tide, 87-80.

Alabama falls to 2-1 on the young season. The Crimson Tide's next game will be next Wednesday, November 19, against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The game will be played in Chicago, Illinois.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.