GAMEDAY INFORMATION -- GAME 04
[13] Purdue (3-0) vs. [2] Alabama (3-0)
7 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena (14,876 - SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: Peacock (Paul Burmeister, Robbie Hummel, Caroline Pineda)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 13-ranked Purdue men's basketball team wraps up its season-long, four-game homestand with its toughest opponent to date, when No. 2-ranked Alabama visits Mackey Arena for a Friday night showdown. It marks the first year of a home-and-home with the Crimson Tide as the Boilermakers will return to Tuscaloosa next season. It also marks the second straight year the two teams will face off, as Purdue defeated Alabama 92-86 in a classic contest in Toronto last season (box score found later in packet).
• There will be 21 teams and 23 NBA scouts in attendance for Friday's contest. It's believed to be the most NBA teams at a game in 30 years.
• The two teams comprised two of the four squads that made the Final Four a year ago. Both teams' seasons were unfortunately ended by National Champion Connecticut. The Huskies topped Alabama in the semifinals, before defeating Purdue in the title game. Purdue will play two of the three other teams in the 2024 Final Four, when it faces North Carolina State in San Diego on Thanksgiving Day.
• Alabama's No. 2 national ranking marks the highest-ranked visitor into Mackey Arena in almost 13 years. The last team ranked in the top two that played in Mackey Arena was No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 20, 2011, a 76-63 Purdue victory. The Crimson Tide will be the highest-ranked non-conference team to play in Mackey Arena since Mackey Arena's very first game, a 73-71 loss to No. 1 UCLA on Dec. 6, 1967.
• Purdue owns a 6-15 record all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. However, the Boilermakers are 5-6 in their last 11 games against teams ranked No. 2, spanning almost 35 years. Purdue is 3-1 at Mackey Arena against teams ranked No. 2.
• Purdue is looking for its 25th straight victory in November and its 21st straight home victory overall. The Boilermakers have won 29 straight home games against non-conference foes and is 59-2 since the start of the 2015-16 season vs. non-conference teams at home.
• The Boilermakers haven't lost a non-conference regular-season game since Dec. 8, 2020, at Miami, Florida -- a span of 1,439 days and 38 games. The streak is tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history. Purdue has defeated seven teams ranked in the AP top 11.
• The Boilermakers are looking to start 4-0 for the fourth straight season. The last time Purdue didn't start 4-0 was in 2020-21, starting the season with a 3-1 record. The Boilermakers have started 8-0 (2021-22), 13-0 (2022-23) and 7-0 (2023-24) in its last three seasons.
• Matt Painter won his 450th game at Purdue (in his 20th season) on Friday night, becoming the fourth Big Ten coach to reach that mark.
• Purdue has been ranked in 40 straight AP Top 25 polls, the sixth-longest active streak in the country and the third longest in school history.
• Purdue is looking to become the first team to win three straight outright Big Ten titles since the Boilermakers did it in 1994-96. Ohio State also accomplished the feat in 1960-62 as the only programs to record an outright "threepeat".
• Purdue's 113 wins over the last four seasons are the third-most nationally behind Houston (126) and Gonzaga (119). The Boilermakers' 113 wins during that span are the most for a four-year span in Purdue history. The record for most wins in a five-year stretch is 130 (2015-19).
• Purdue, Duke, Gonzaga and Houston are the only programs in America to have made at least a Sweet 16, Elite 8 and Final Four in the last five NCAA Tournaments. Purdue reached the Sweet 16 in 2022, the Elite 8 in 2019 and the Final Four in 2024.
• Matt Painter ranks fourth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 450, trailing only Tom Izzo (709), Bob Knight (662) and Gene Keady (512) in Big Ten history. On the Big Ten games-only chart, Painter is fifth (226 wins), needing two wins to tie Hall of Famer, Ward "Piggy" Lambert of Purdue with 228 victories.
• Braden Smith (473) needs nine assists to move into third place on Purdue's career assists list. Tony Jones (1987-90) and Everette Stephens (1985-88) are tied for third with 481 career helpers.
[13] Purdue (3-0) vs. [2] Alabama (3-0)
7 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Indiana
Mackey Arena (14,876 - SOLD OUT)
TELEVISION: Peacock (Paul Burmeister, Robbie Hummel, Caroline Pineda)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The No. 13-ranked Purdue men's basketball team wraps up its season-long, four-game homestand with its toughest opponent to date, when No. 2-ranked Alabama visits Mackey Arena for a Friday night showdown. It marks the first year of a home-and-home with the Crimson Tide as the Boilermakers will return to Tuscaloosa next season. It also marks the second straight year the two teams will face off, as Purdue defeated Alabama 92-86 in a classic contest in Toronto last season (box score found later in packet).
• There will be 21 teams and 23 NBA scouts in attendance for Friday's contest. It's believed to be the most NBA teams at a game in 30 years.
• The two teams comprised two of the four squads that made the Final Four a year ago. Both teams' seasons were unfortunately ended by National Champion Connecticut. The Huskies topped Alabama in the semifinals, before defeating Purdue in the title game. Purdue will play two of the three other teams in the 2024 Final Four, when it faces North Carolina State in San Diego on Thanksgiving Day.
• Alabama's No. 2 national ranking marks the highest-ranked visitor into Mackey Arena in almost 13 years. The last team ranked in the top two that played in Mackey Arena was No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 20, 2011, a 76-63 Purdue victory. The Crimson Tide will be the highest-ranked non-conference team to play in Mackey Arena since Mackey Arena's very first game, a 73-71 loss to No. 1 UCLA on Dec. 6, 1967.
• Purdue owns a 6-15 record all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. However, the Boilermakers are 5-6 in their last 11 games against teams ranked No. 2, spanning almost 35 years. Purdue is 3-1 at Mackey Arena against teams ranked No. 2.
• Purdue is looking for its 25th straight victory in November and its 21st straight home victory overall. The Boilermakers have won 29 straight home games against non-conference foes and is 59-2 since the start of the 2015-16 season vs. non-conference teams at home.
• The Boilermakers haven't lost a non-conference regular-season game since Dec. 8, 2020, at Miami, Florida -- a span of 1,439 days and 38 games. The streak is tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history. Purdue has defeated seven teams ranked in the AP top 11.
• The Boilermakers are looking to start 4-0 for the fourth straight season. The last time Purdue didn't start 4-0 was in 2020-21, starting the season with a 3-1 record. The Boilermakers have started 8-0 (2021-22), 13-0 (2022-23) and 7-0 (2023-24) in its last three seasons.
• Matt Painter won his 450th game at Purdue (in his 20th season) on Friday night, becoming the fourth Big Ten coach to reach that mark.
• Purdue has been ranked in 40 straight AP Top 25 polls, the sixth-longest active streak in the country and the third longest in school history.
• Purdue is looking to become the first team to win three straight outright Big Ten titles since the Boilermakers did it in 1994-96. Ohio State also accomplished the feat in 1960-62 as the only programs to record an outright "threepeat".
• Purdue's 113 wins over the last four seasons are the third-most nationally behind Houston (126) and Gonzaga (119). The Boilermakers' 113 wins during that span are the most for a four-year span in Purdue history. The record for most wins in a five-year stretch is 130 (2015-19).
• Purdue, Duke, Gonzaga and Houston are the only programs in America to have made at least a Sweet 16, Elite 8 and Final Four in the last five NCAA Tournaments. Purdue reached the Sweet 16 in 2022, the Elite 8 in 2019 and the Final Four in 2024.
• Matt Painter ranks fourth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 450, trailing only Tom Izzo (709), Bob Knight (662) and Gene Keady (512) in Big Ten history. On the Big Ten games-only chart, Painter is fifth (226 wins), needing two wins to tie Hall of Famer, Ward "Piggy" Lambert of Purdue with 228 victories.
• Braden Smith (473) needs nine assists to move into third place on Purdue's career assists list. Tony Jones (1987-90) and Everette Stephens (1985-88) are tied for third with 481 career helpers.