GAMEDAY INFORMATION
[2 / 1] Purdue (2-0) at [8 / 9] Alabama (2-0)
Thursday, November 13 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Coleman Coliseum (15,383)
TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
#2 Purdue Heads South for Showdown With #8 Alabama
Boilermakers are looking for fifth straight 3-0 start.
THE BIG NUMBERS
vs. 8
Thursday's game marks Purdue's highest-ranked, non-conference road opponent since Dec. 30, 2005 (#4 Memphis).
3-2
Purdue is 3-2 under Matt Painter in top-10 showdowns on the road.
3.67
Purdue ranks 4th nationally with a 3.67 assist-to-turnover ratio (44 asts / 12 TOs).
118
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Purdue's 118 victories rank third nationally behind Houston and Duke.
26
Purdue's 26, 3-pointers through the first two games are the most in the first two games since the 2015-16 season (30).
• The No. 2-ranked Purdue Boilermakers begin a gauntlet on Thursday, when it travels to No. 8-ranked Alabama for the completion of a home-and-home series that started a year ago in Mackey Arena. It will be the third straight year that the two teams will have played and the Boilermakers are looking for a signature win early in the season against a very good Crimson Tide squad.
• Of Purdue's remaining 29 games, just two of them will now come against teams ranked below 100 via KenPom.
• The Boilermakers are looking to start 3-0 or better for the fifth consecutive year and for the 15th time in Matt Painter's 21 seasons.
• The matchup at No. 8 Alabama marks Purdue's highest-ranked, non-conference opponent on the road since Matt Painter's first year at Purdue -- a 90-70 loss at No. 4 Memphis on Dec. 30, 2005.
• Purdue is shooting for its first non-conference road win over an AP top-10 team since an 89-83 win over No. 3 Kentucky on Dec. 19, 1970.
• Matt Painter is 4-2 all-time against Alabama, but one of the losses came in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. No. 8 seed Alabama knocked off No. 9 seed Southern Illinois (led by Painter), 65-64, in the first round. Alabama would advance to the Elite Eight that season.
• Starting with the Alabama game, Purdue is scheduled to currently play 27 games against the KenPom top 100, and 17 games against the top 50.
• In the last three games dating to last season, Braden Smith has 35 assists against seven turnovers (15 vs. Houston, 11 vs. Evansville, 9 vs. Oakland). As a team, Purdue has 44 assists against just 12 turnovers so far this season.
• Purdue is 10th in the country in turnover percentage (9.1 %), and seventh in assist rate (A / FGM --> 73.7 %). Purdue is 11th nationally in percentage of points scored by 3-pointers (46.2 %).
• Smith moved into third place on the Big Ten's career assists list with 778 helpers. Next on the chart is Mateen Cleaves (816 assists).
• With Fletcher Loyer scoring 30 points in the opener, Purdue now has four active players with 30-point games (Smith, Cluff, Kaufman-Renn).
• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Purdue's 118 victories rank third nationally (Houston - 134; Duke - 123).
• Purdue has won 34 straight non-conference home games, dating to Nov. 9, 2019 (Texas). It's the longest streak in school history.
• Purdue's 14 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll since the 2021-22 season are the most in the country (Auburn - 11; Houston 11; Gonzaga - 9).
• Purdue had four players (Smith, Loyer, Kaufman-Renn, Cluff) nominated by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for their position awards. Purdue is one-of-five schools to have at least four players nominated (UConn, Houston - 5; Purdue, Duke, Florida - 4).
• Braden Smith has been named as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, while Trey Kaufman-Renn joined him on the first team.
• Braden Smith is already the only player in Big Ten conference history to amass 1,400 points, 775 assists, 525 rebounds and 175 steals in a career. He is one of 10 players in NCAA history to reach those marks.
• Purdue has had a consensus first- or second-team All-American in seven of the past nine seasons despite never enrolling a top-30 recruiting class or a top-30 prospect at any point during that span.
• Matt Painter ranks fourth on the Big Ten's list for career wins with 473, trailing only Tom Izzo (739), Bob Knight (662) and Gene Keady (512) in Big Ten history. Painter has 498 career victories and with four more victories, Painter will become the seventh-fastest active coach to reach 500 wins (Few, Calipari, Self, Pitino, Izzo, Bennett).
• Purdue has sold out its ticket allotment for the upcoming season, stretching its sellout streak in Mackey Arena to 106 games by the time the March 7, game against Wisconsin rolls around. Purdue has 91 straight sellouts entering Sunday's contest with Akron.