No. 13 Purdue holds off No. 2 Alabama, 87-78
Purdue holds on at home to hand No. 2 Alabama its first loss of the new season.
The Boilermakers extended their home winning streak to 21 with tonight's nine-point victory.
It was a back-and-forth battle between two of the Final Four teams from last season. Purdue led 42-40 at the break before Alabama jumped out to a six-point lead with 11 minutes to play. The Boilermakers regained the lead with a little over nine minutes to play at Mackey Arena, and Matt Painter's squad was able to slow down the Tide's offense, holding onto the lead for the remainder of the game.
The three-ball was the difference maker in this anticipated matchup. Alabama has struggled from beyond the arc in its past two games and that trend continued tonight as Bama finished 9-29 from three (31%). Purdue shot a much more efficient 9-16 (56%) from long range.
Boilermaker point guard Braden Smith recorded his 11th career double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. It is Smith's second game this season with double-digit assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn led Purdue in scoring, dropping 26 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Alabama point guard Mark Sears struggled to get in rhythm tonight, only connecting on five of his 15 shots. Sears finished with 15 points, six assists and a game-leading four turnovers.
Purdue (4-0) will likely jump into the top 10 after this win. The Boilermakers will try to carry this momentum into another ranked nonconference matchup against No. 15 Marquette next week.
Alabama (3-1) will look to bounce back against Illinois next Wednesday before taking on No. 8 Houston and No. 24 Rutgers the week of Thanksgiving.
Wisconsin explodes in 103-88 win over No. 9 Arizona
The unranked Badgers hand No. 9 Arizona its first loss of the 2024-2025 campaign.
In a game that featured 63 fouls and 87 free throw attempts, Missouri transfer John Tonje took full advantage, going 21-22 from the charity stripe en route to a 41-point performance for Wisconsin in the win.
Wisconsin was out-rebounded 52 to 28 as the Wildcats hauled in 24 offensive rebounds to the Badgers two. However, Tommy Lloyd's squad could not capitalize on this disparity, going 28 of 74 from the field, including 4 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Caleb Love and the Wildcats looked out of rhythm offensively, recording only six assists as a team on the night. Love finished 2-13 from the field before fouling out late in the second half.
The Badgers had 22 fewer shot attempts than the Wildcats, but Wisconsin was much more efficient, connecting on 12 of its 27 threes and 41 of its 47 free throw attempts as a team. Arizona finished 28 of 40 from the free-throw line.
Wisconsin (4-0) picks up a huge resume-building win early in the new season, and Arizona (2-1) will get a week to get back on track before taking on No. 6 Duke next Friday. ;
