No. 2 Alabama embodies Purdue basketball's top-tier scheduling philosophy: Test yourself

No. 2 Alabama embodies Purdue basketball’s top-tier scheduling philosophy: Test yourself

Posted by Admin November 15, 2024 Basketball

No. 2 Alabama at No. 12 Purdue, 7 p.m., Friday; TV: Peacock

WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue basketball players possess a vague understanding of the historic streak on the line Friday against No. 2 Alabama.

Not that coach Matt Painter hides it from them. He’s fond of pointing out senior Caleb Furst has never lost a nonconference regular-season game. In 38 nonconference regular season games stretching back to 2020, the Boilermakers have come out on top.

Painter also knows that winning streak holds its greatest value when it’s in peril. He and director of basketball operations Elliot Bloom built a schedule which threatens that streak, rather than protects it.

Case in point: No. 2 Alabama — a team whose bench Painter said could split off and be its own top-25 team — comes to Mackey Arena on Friday night. Two teams who played in the Final Four last March meet in mid-November because of what the game — win or lose — can mean for making another tournament run.

“You learn a lot from every game, but you really learn a lot when you play elite people,” Painter said. “Everyone’s gonna have problems there. What are your problems, and how do you fix it?”

Purdue’s tough nonconference schedule does not begin Friday. It arguably started on opening night with a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi program which recently went to the NCAA tournament twice under former Boiler assistant Steve Lutz. Northern Kentucky is only one year removed from the tournament. Yale upset 4 seed Auburn in the NCAA tournament last season – its third trip in the past five seasons.

Not national powers, but also not glorified scrimmages to ease into the season.

Alabama stands out, though, even from the Boilermakers’ usual tough early season plan. The last time a nonconference opponent ranked this high visited Mackey Arena was the day it opened — Dec. 6, 1967. John Wooden’s UCLA team brought Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the No. 1 ranking to the new arena.

BOILER UPDATE: Get Purdue news straight to your inbox!

This game did not come together as part of a Thanksgiving-week exempt tournament. It did not materialize through intra-conference agreements, such as the bygone ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Gavitt Games. This was not even a made-for-TV early season showcase at a neutral site — though NBC is likely happy to have extra eyes on Peacock on a Friday night.

This game happened because two major programs called each other with a shared goal and a mutual lack of fear or grandstanding. Purdue travels to Marquette next week for the same reasons. Next year, those games flip, with the Boilermakers visiting Tuscaloosa and Shaka Smart bringing the Golden Eagles to Mackey Arena.

Painter endeavors to make two high-major home-and-homes an annual staple of the schedule.

“You get those six games right there that, if you could go 4-4, you could even be 3-3, and you can take care of the other ones, you’re going to put yourself in a pretty good spot,” Painter said. “We’ve been fortunate to win them all here. The last three years, we’ve put ourselves in great spots.”

Purdue’s last regular-season nonconference loss came at Miami on Dec. 8, 2020. Two Boilermaker starters in that game — Sasha Stefanovic and Isaiah Thompson — are now on Painter’s staff.

In the 1,439 days since, Purdue is 38-0 against non-Big Ten opponents outside the NCAA tournament. Only four streaks in NCAA history have stretched longer. A win Friday would create a tie with Arizona (2011-14) for fourth. Another win at Marquette would tie Illinois (2003-06) for third.

The most impressive aspect of the streak is how frequently it was on the line in more than mid-major buy games. Purdue is 8-0 against ranked teams (all ranked No. 18 or higher), with seven other victories against major conference opponents.

A year ago, Purdue swept through No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 4 Marquette at the Maui Invitational. All three reached at least the Sweet 16, with the Boilermakers beating Gonzaga again there before beating the Volunteers in the Elite Eight.

Purdue also beat No. 1 Arizona in Indianapolis, one week after beating a still-climbing Alabama squad in Toronto, 92-86. The Wildcats reached the Sweet 16, and Alabama reached the Final Four on the opposite side of the Boilers’ bracket.

None of the above made Purdue invincible. Its three regular-season losses came against Northwestern (one overtime NCAA tourney victory), Nebraska (first-round exit) and Ohio State (did not make the tourney).

Winning those marquee matchups, though, contributed to a momentum of confidence which carried into this season.

“When we’re playing against the best teams in the country, and then you’re winning as much as we have, you kind of see yourself up there as the best teams in the country,” fourth-year junior Trey Kaufman-Renn said.

“Since I’ve been here, at least, we’ve always thought ourselves to be among the top three teams in the country. So when you kind of walk with that and have the goals we have, It’s necessary to compete against these good teams — especially early on in the year.”

When the teams played in Toronto last Dec. 9, the Crimson Tide had recently dropped out of the top 25. Zach Edey was the biggest name in the game and scored 35, but Braden Smith contributed 27 points and eight assists. Alabama countered its lack of an answer inside by pouring in 3-pointers.

Based on that game — and a particular offseason addition — Purdue sees myriad ways Alabama will challenge its early season soft spots.

Mark Sears scored 35 that night — a performance which helped catapult him onto multiple All-America lists. Friday night he provides a major defensive test for freshmen Gicarri Harris and C.J. Cox.

Both secured rotation spots in the preseason with their defensive mindset and willingness to play physical. A player with Sears’ ability to make contested shots from all over the floor could provide a new learning experience.

“You have to be resilient and you have to be determined, but you also have to be disciplined and understand what the hell is going on,” Painter said. “Because they run different actions, they do different things. You’ve got to stick to our rules.

“A lot of times when you get off your rules, you get behind plays, and then it’s tough to recover. But when you get against great players, you can actually do everything you’re supposed to do, and you still end up failing. Well, that’s when you tip the cap to the people. You just keep doing those things. You keep sticking to that because you don’t want to disconnect your defense.”

Cliff Omoruyi scored in double figures against Purdue a handful of times while playing at Rutgers. No doubt he looks forward to stepping into Mackey Arena with Edey nowhere to be seen. He and fellow 6-11 forward Grant Nelson will challenge a still-emerging frontcourt situation still regrouping from the loss to Daniel Jacobsen.

“His game’s pretty solidified right now, so I don’t think he’s gonna do anything new,” Kaufman-Renn said of Omoruyi. “But he’s still an incredible player, obviously. Of all the guys we scouted against he’s one of the most difficult because his athleticism puts us in a bind a lot of times.”

Purdue’s nonconference regular-season winning streak will eventually end. Even if the Boilermakers play well Friday, it might end around 9 p.m.

It may also contribute to whether they string together wins in March.