Basic Information
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Type of School: Public
Mascot: Big Al (The Elephant)
Purdue Game Date: November 13th, 2025
Purdue Game Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
2024-’25 Season: 28-9 (13-5 in SEC play)
2024
– ‘25 NCAA Tournament: #2 Seed – Lost to Duke in Regional Final
Head Coach – Nate Oats
Seasons at Alabama: 7
Alabama Record: 145-63
Career Record: 241-106
Regular Season Conference Championships:
4 (Buffalo 2, Alabama 2)Conference Tournament Championships: 5 (Buffalo 3, Alabama 2)
NCAA Appearances: 9
Final 4 Appearances: 1
Personnel
Key Losses From 2024-’25
Key Returning Players from 2024-’25
Key Portal Additions
Key 2025 Recruits
Alabama in a Nutshell
I’ll save the more in-depth stuff for the in-season preview, but needless to say, things will look a little different in Tuscaloosa without Mark Sears. That doesn’t mean Nate Oates is going to change Alabama’s perimeter-oriented attack through, and he’s got ample talent at every position to get the job done. This team lacks some depth and experience but has no shortage of athletes.
They’re going to spread the floor, put the ball in Philon’s hands, and see if he can get into the lane, collapse the defense, and kick out to open 40%+ shooters on the perimeter. Philon’s the type of long, rangy point guard that gave Purdue issues last season, as evidenced by his team-leading 18 points against the Boilermakers last season in addition to his four assists.
They’re going to have shooters 2-4 to space out the floor and use their 7’0”, 250-pound Bucknell transfer (by way of Latvia) Noah Williamson to set bone-rattling screens for Philon in the pick-and-roll or in the pick-and-pop (Williamson went 20-45 from deep in conference play last season). He’s not nearly the defender that Cliff Omoruyi was for them last year, but he’s exponentially more skilled on offense. I see him as Alabama’s Oscar Cluff, and I’m a big Oscar Cluff fan.
Purdue won the early-season matchup last season because they hit nine three-pointers on sixteen attempts. Bama also hit nine from deep, but it required twenty-nine offerings. The Crimson Tide doesn’t have the same national hype this year that they had last season, but they’re the type of long, athletic team that, in theory, can bother Braden Smith and company.
This will be a stern early-season road game for Matt Painter’s crew. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb in saying that if Purdue is going to drop a game in November, Alabama has the horses to get the job done, especially if they get hot from the outside at home. I’m interested in seeing how Purdue handles a team with an NBA-caliber point guard. They’re going to try to bully Purdue’s back court on both sides of the court and try to force Braden to play horizontally instead of vertically on offense.
The November 13th game against Alabama will give us our first taste of what I expect to be a historically good Purdue team. If things fall into place, I’ll be in Tuscaloosa for the game. Let me know if any of y’all are making the trip.
