Coach Nate Oats' first-ever appearance in Purdue's Mackey Arena saw an 87-78 loss for Alabama basketball against the Boilermakers.

Point spreads are determined by a variety of things -- none of which are actually something as subjective as "respect." That acknowledged, Purdue being a 2.5-point underdog at home on Friday, according to FanDuel Sportsbook,

The Boilermakers have won 38 straight nonconference regular season games, but that streak only has value when it goes up against teams like Alabama.

Two teams that reached the 2024 Final Four meet at Mackey Arena when the Purdue Boilermakers host the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats, who led the Tide to its first Final Four last season, isn't worried about the loss and even welcomes the challenge that comes with losing an early season contest. “We schedule these games for a reason," Oats said . "We try to figure out what we’ve got to work on. We’ve got plenty to work on after this game.”

Since Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats' hiring in 2019, the Crimson Tide has grown renowned for its shooting ability from downtown in a

Trey Kaufman-Penn had a game-high 26 points, Braden Smith had a double-double, and the hot-shooting Purdue Boilermakers handed No. 2 Alabama basketball its first loss of the season, 87-78, inside a raucous Mackey Arena Friday night.