The 2025-26 college basketball season is underway, and fans can watch an exciting matchup on Thursday. No. 2-ranked Purdue will take on the No. 8-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Both teams have played two games and are undefeated to start the season. However, one will have their undefeated record broken on Thursday night. Here is everything you need to know about the matchup.
Purdue vs. Alabama Prediction
Heading into this game, Purdue is coming off of an 87-77 win over Oakland and an 82-51 win over Evansville. Conversely, Alabama is coming off a 103-96 win over No. 13-ranked St John’s and a 91-62 win over North Dakota.
While Purdue is the higher-seeded team to start the year, it has not proven itself against top competition. Conversely, Alabama already has a win over a ranked opponent. As a result, we have more faith in the Crimson Tide to come out on top on Thursday.
We are also concerned about the fact that the Boilermakers were unable to convincingly defeat Oakland on Friday. While they won the game, only winning by 10 points against a lesser opponent is reason to be concerned. So, we are picking Alabama to win on Thursday night.
Purdue Boilermakers Starting Lineup
This is the projected starting lineup for Purdue based on their first two games of the year:
- G: Jack Benter
- G: C.J. Cox
- G: Fletcher Loyer
- G: Braden Smith
- F: Oscar Cluff
Alabama Crimson Tide Starting Lineup
Alabama’s starting lineup is more difficult to judge because they shifted things around in the first two games. That said, this is the starting lineup we expect the Crimson Tide to go with:
- G: Aden Holloway
- G: Houston Mallette
- G: Labaron Philon
- F: Taylor Bol Bowen
- F: Aiden Sherrell
Purdue vs. Alabama Injury Report
Injuries should not have too much of an impact on either team because it is still early in the season. However, Alabama has two players dealing with injuries from before the season. Keitenn Bristow is doubtful with an ankle injury, and Jalil Bethea is out with a foot injury.
Purdue only has one player listed on the injury report. Trey Kaufman-Renn is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury.
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