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Alabama basketball drops close game to Purdue

47377776_10156854436900775_2208546246019252224_nby:Clint Lamb•12/09/23•

ClintRLamb

MarkSearsPurdue
Photo courtesy of UA Athletics

The Alabama men’s basketball team is now 6-3 on the season after dropping a hard-fought game to Purdue on Saturday afternoon. Overall, it was a respectable performance from the Crimson Tide with a 92-86 final score, but the result still means that the team has lost three of its last five games with a couple of tough opponents coming up on the schedule.

How It Happened

Alabama started the game off with an 8-0 run to establish momentum and kept a steady lead throughout the first half, but the whistle just wasn’t in the Crimson Tide’s favor today. Several bigs — including Pringle and West Virginia transfer Mohamed Wagu — got in foul trouble from the jump, which made it extremely difficult to defend Purdue star Zach Edey.

By game’s end, the 7-foot-4, 300-pound center tied his season-high in points with 35 to go with seven rebounds. Of those 35 points, 11 came on free throws (11-of-11) after he was able to get to the line at an alarming rate. And while Alabama was able to keep things close after shooting 41.3% from beyond the arc, the scoring hot streak just wasn’t enough to help the Tide secure a win over one of the top teams in college basketball.

Players of the Game

Mark Sears was lights out in this game. The veteran guard from Muscle Shoals (Ala.) tied Edey for a game-high 35 points, which is his first 30-point game since arriving in Tuscaloosa prior to the 2022-23 season. He didn’t get much of his production from getting to the free throw line either (1-for-1). Instead, it was his three-point shooting that did the most damage, as he made 8-of-16 (50%) from downtown while also adding four rebounds in 35 minutes.

Grant Nelson and Wague each had 11 points, but those were the only three Alabama players to get into the double-digits. Transfer Latrell Wrightsell and freshman Sam Walters combined to his 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, but most of the Crimson Tide’s production came from Sears. He was averaging 19.8 per game going in (which is great), but the senior stepped up in a big way with UA on the road.

Key Stats

The foul distribution was certainly a topic of discussion on X. By the end of the game, Alabama had been tagged with 25 while Purdue had 15, but it almost felt even more lopsided than that for awhile. Edey managed to go a large chunk of the game without drawing any while every Tide defender guarding him were racking them up in droves. That has been a strong suit for the Boilermakers all season though.

Other than that, the three-point shooting definitely stood out. Going into Saturday, the most three-point shots Alabama had made in a game was 13. They matched that number in just the first half while finishing with 19.

What’s Next

The schedule isn’t slowing down for Alabama. Despite playing No. 4 Purdue on Saturday, the next two opponents are also ranked in the top 10. Up first is Creighton, which is set for next Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. CT. Then it’s a showdown against a top-ranked Arizona team that’s currently got a tough stretch as well (Wisconsin, Purdue and then Alabama). That matchup will be Wednesday, Dec. 20. Keep in mind it’s a late start time (10 p.m.) though.

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