GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 10
[4] Purdue (8-1) vs. Alabama (6-2)
1:30 p.m. ET | Toronto, Ontario
Coca-Cola Coliseum | 7,779
TELEVISION: FOX (Jason Benetti, Robbie Hummel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The gauntlet continues for the No. 4-ranked Purdue basketball team as it travels north of the border to face Alabama in the Hall of Fame Toronto Series hosted by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. The contest will mark Purdue's seventh game (out of 10) against a team ranked in the KenPom top-60. Alabama is ranked No. 12 in the NET and 13 in KenPom.
• Purdue and Alabama both earned No. 1 seeds in last year's NCAA Tournament and were ranked No. 1 for a combined nine weeks a year ago.
• The game is part of a doubleheader, as No. 24-ranked Clemson will face undefeated TCU in the second game. The four teams in Toronto have combined for a 29-3 overall record so far this year.
• Two of the nation's best offenses will square off in Toronto on Saturday, as Alabama enters with the nation's No. 2-ranked offensive efficiency, while Purdue owns the nation's No. 4-ranked offensive efficiency. It will mark Purdue's third game this season against a team with a top-5 offense at the time of the game (Gonzaga - 2; Marquette - 5).
• The Boilermakers are wrapping up a nine-game stretch in which it played Xavier (4 seed in 2023 NCAAs), Gonzaga (ranked No. 11), Tennessee (ranked No. 7), Marquette (ranked No. 4), Texas Southern (2023 NCAA Tournament), Northwestern (2nd rd. in 2023 NCAA Tournament), Iowa (2023 NCAA Tournament), Alabama (1 seed in NCAA Tournament) and Arizona (currently ranked No. 1). Purdue is 6-1 in those games so far.
• The game will be a Homecoming for senior Zach Edey, who returns to his hometown to play a game for the first time since his sophomore year in high school (2017-18 season). When the game was scheduled in April, Alabama's Charles Bediako was also intending to return home to Toronto, be he opted to stay in the NBA Draft.
• Purdue has won 31 straight non-conference, regular-season games, tied for the longest streak for any program in the country over the last 10 years (31 by Villanova from 2015-18). It will have been over three calendar years (Dec. 8, 2020 vs. Miami) since Purdue has lost in the non-con.
• Purdue's 66 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are the fourth most in the country (Houston - 74, Kansas - 69, Arizona - 68, Purdue - 66, Gonzaga - 65, Duke - 64, UCLA - 63). Among Big Ten teams, Wisconsin (52) and Iowa (50) are next on the list.
• Matt Painter has moved into sixth place Big Ten's list for conference wins with 210, tying Indiana's Branch McCracken (210) on the chart. He needs two victories to tie Lou Henson (423) for fourth place on the Big Ten's all-time wins list.
• Zach Edey needs 26 points to tie Robbie Hummel (1,772) for 10th on Purdue's career scoring list. He also needs 10 rebounds to tie Terry Dischinger (958) for second on the career rebounding list. He needs one block to tie Russell Cross (175) for fifth on the career blocks list.
• Purdue was voted No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll on Nov. 27, the third straight year that the Boilermakers have been ranked No. 1. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Purdue had never been ranked No. 1. Purdue is the first Big Ten program to be ranked No. 1 in three straight seasons.
• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Purdue has spent nine weeks ranked at No. 1, tied for the most in the country with Gonzaga.
• With its No. 4 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 21 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 11 weeks (Kansas - 10). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 15 of those 21 weeks.
• A year ago, Purdue became the first team since Wisconsin in 2015 to win an outright Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament title in the same season. No team since Michigan State (1999, 2000) has won consecutive Big Ten Tournament and outright regular-season championships.
• Purdue is in search for its 26th Big Ten Championship, already owning the most Big Ten titles in league history. Should Purdue win the Big Ten title in 2024, it will mark its fourth title in the last eight seasons and back-to-back titles for the first time since 1994-95-96.
[4] Purdue (8-1) vs. Alabama (6-2)
1:30 p.m. ET | Toronto, Ontario
Coca-Cola Coliseum | 7,779
TELEVISION: FOX (Jason Benetti, Robbie Hummel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The gauntlet continues for the No. 4-ranked Purdue basketball team as it travels north of the border to face Alabama in the Hall of Fame Toronto Series hosted by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. The contest will mark Purdue's seventh game (out of 10) against a team ranked in the KenPom top-60. Alabama is ranked No. 12 in the NET and 13 in KenPom.
• Purdue and Alabama both earned No. 1 seeds in last year's NCAA Tournament and were ranked No. 1 for a combined nine weeks a year ago.
• The game is part of a doubleheader, as No. 24-ranked Clemson will face undefeated TCU in the second game. The four teams in Toronto have combined for a 29-3 overall record so far this year.
• Two of the nation's best offenses will square off in Toronto on Saturday, as Alabama enters with the nation's No. 2-ranked offensive efficiency, while Purdue owns the nation's No. 4-ranked offensive efficiency. It will mark Purdue's third game this season against a team with a top-5 offense at the time of the game (Gonzaga - 2; Marquette - 5).
• The Boilermakers are wrapping up a nine-game stretch in which it played Xavier (4 seed in 2023 NCAAs), Gonzaga (ranked No. 11), Tennessee (ranked No. 7), Marquette (ranked No. 4), Texas Southern (2023 NCAA Tournament), Northwestern (2nd rd. in 2023 NCAA Tournament), Iowa (2023 NCAA Tournament), Alabama (1 seed in NCAA Tournament) and Arizona (currently ranked No. 1). Purdue is 6-1 in those games so far.
• The game will be a Homecoming for senior Zach Edey, who returns to his hometown to play a game for the first time since his sophomore year in high school (2017-18 season). When the game was scheduled in April, Alabama's Charles Bediako was also intending to return home to Toronto, be he opted to stay in the NBA Draft.
• Purdue has won 31 straight non-conference, regular-season games, tied for the longest streak for any program in the country over the last 10 years (31 by Villanova from 2015-18). It will have been over three calendar years (Dec. 8, 2020 vs. Miami) since Purdue has lost in the non-con.
• Purdue's 66 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are the fourth most in the country (Houston - 74, Kansas - 69, Arizona - 68, Purdue - 66, Gonzaga - 65, Duke - 64, UCLA - 63). Among Big Ten teams, Wisconsin (52) and Iowa (50) are next on the list.
• Matt Painter has moved into sixth place Big Ten's list for conference wins with 210, tying Indiana's Branch McCracken (210) on the chart. He needs two victories to tie Lou Henson (423) for fourth place on the Big Ten's all-time wins list.
• Zach Edey needs 26 points to tie Robbie Hummel (1,772) for 10th on Purdue's career scoring list. He also needs 10 rebounds to tie Terry Dischinger (958) for second on the career rebounding list. He needs one block to tie Russell Cross (175) for fifth on the career blocks list.
• Purdue was voted No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll on Nov. 27, the third straight year that the Boilermakers have been ranked No. 1. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Purdue had never been ranked No. 1. Purdue is the first Big Ten program to be ranked No. 1 in three straight seasons.
• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Purdue has spent nine weeks ranked at No. 1, tied for the most in the country with Gonzaga.
• With its No. 4 ranking this week, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 21 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 11 weeks (Kansas - 10). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 15 of those 21 weeks.
• A year ago, Purdue became the first team since Wisconsin in 2015 to win an outright Big Ten regular-season title and the Big Ten Tournament title in the same season. No team since Michigan State (1999, 2000) has won consecutive Big Ten Tournament and outright regular-season championships.
• Purdue is in search for its 26th Big Ten Championship, already owning the most Big Ten titles in league history. Should Purdue win the Big Ten title in 2024, it will mark its fourth title in the last eight seasons and back-to-back titles for the first time since 1994-95-96.