#2 Purdue 87, #8 Alabama 80 (Postgame Notes)
- 2-ranked Purdue improved to 3-0 with an 87-80 win over No. 8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night.
- Purdue has now started 3-0 on the season for the fifth consecutive year.
- The win was Purdue’s third in the last three seasons against Alabama, all coming by at least six points. The Crimson Tide have lost 22 games total since the start of the 2023-24 season. Three of them have come to Purdue.
- Purdue was +24 (52-28) on the glass against Alabama, the highest margin against a top-10 team on the road since Xavier held a 27-rebound advantage against #10 Seton Hall on Feb. 1, 2020.
- Purdue improved to 10-3 in its last 13 games against the SEC.
- Purdue is 12-5 under Matt Painter in AP Top-10 showdowns. The Boilermakers are 4-2 under Painter on the road in top-10 showdowns.
- The win was Purdue’s first non-conference road win over a top-10 team since Dec. 4, 1982, at #7 Louisville (89-83). It was Purdue’s first non-conference road win between two top-10 teams ever.
- Purdue is 109-5 under Matt Painter when scoring at least 80 points.
- Purdue is 24-14 (.632) against ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season, the third-best winning percentage in the country (UConn, Memphis).
- The win was the 90th since the start of the 2022-23 season, and this year’s senior class now owns a 90-23 career record.
- The victory was the 499th career victory of Matt Painter’s career in his 22nd season. He owns a 499-220 career record.
- The win was Matt Painter’s 27th win over a top-10 team and it improves his record against all ranked teams to 78-102.
- After Alabama tied the game at 80-80 with 1:42 to play, Purdue scored the last seven points of the game.
- Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer started their 113th consecutive game on Thursday, setting a new school record for consecutive starts.
- Braden Smith scored 29 points with seven rebounds and four assists. In three career games against Alabama, Smith averaged 24.3 points, 7.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game.
- Purdue improved to 18-1 in games that Braden Smith scores at least 20 points.
- Braden Smith now has 1,430 career points, 782 career assists, 551 career rebounds and 185 career steals. He is one of six players in NCAA history with at least 1,400 polnts, 775 assists, 550 rebounds and 175 steals.
- When Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith combine for at least 30 points during their career, Purdue is 25-2.
- Trey Kaufman-Renn became the third player in the last 30 seasons to have at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a top-10 matchup, joining North Carolina’s Joe Forte (2001) and Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan (1996). He tallied 19 points, 15 rebounds (T-career high) and five assists in his first game of the season.
- Oscar Cluff has 24 games of at least 10 rebounds in 35 games since the start of last year (11 vs. Alabama). In two games vs. Alabama, Cluff averaged 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds (21 & 15 last year while at South Dakota State).