From the start, it was clear this was not a normal November game. Purdue had entered a hostile arena. In a tense, wire-to-wire battle on Thursday night, the Boilermakers outlasted No. 8 Alabama by 87-80, turning their record to 3-0 early on. This showed the calm of a team already playing with midseason confidence. Alabama, on the other hand, had opened the game on fire from deep, hitting 10 of its first 21 threes. Yet Purdue never wavered, despite a strong home-crowd advantage their opponents had.

Instead, the Boilers leaned on seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith, who helped secure one of Purdue’s strongest early-season wins in years. Well, with this win, Purdue finally punched through a wall that had stood for more than four decades. They secured their first AP top-10 non-conference road win since Dec. 1982, when the Boilermakers defeated No. 7 Louisville 89-83. 43 years later, Purdue has done it again, and Coach Matt Painter couldn’t help but reflect on how his team pulled through.

In a post-game interview, Painter offered a clear window into how demanding the final minutes were. He explained why Purdue needed its veterans to steady the game. He stressed that Alabama spent the closing stretch constantly toggling players for offense-defense possessions, saying, “They’re trying to flip offense and defense there the last four or five minutes, and that puts us in a bind defensively.”

Alabama’s late-game move, along with its earlier success from three-point range, created real stress on Purdue’s rotations. Painter even admitted the margin was thin when he noted, “We got lucky that they missed a couple wide-open threes.”

Painter then gave credit where it’s due, starting with Trey Kaufman-Renn’s early impact. He highlighted Kaufman-Renn’s ability to attack Alabama’s switches, saying, “His ability to drive the ball and then make those intermediate shots… just to get off to a good start on the road sometimes is hard, especially in such a great environment. I thought he did it for us in the first half. He was really, really good.”

The difficulty of starting well on the road is not unseen for Purdue. And Painter recognised that.  Alabama’s home court is notoriously loud, and the Tide opened the game shooting confidently from deep.

Painter then credited Braden Smith for taking command in the second half, when the game became more volatile. He said, “I thought Braden carried it for us in the second half. You’ve got to be able to make shots and keep them at bay, and I thought both of those guys in the first and second half did that.”

Senior guard Braden Smith turned in one of those performances where you can almost see the game slowing down around him. By the final buzzer, he had poured in 29 points (21 in the second half alone), pulled down 7 rebounds, and handed out 4 assists in just 34 minutes. Smith also inched closer to college basketball history. His four assists moved him to 782 for his career, putting him within striking distance of Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA record. It’s still a long climb; he needs 294 more, but nights like this make it feel possible.

Right beside him was Trey Kaufman-Renn, who was returning from an injury and yet dropped 19 points, 15 boards, and five assists. With the two of them working in sync, Purdue controlled the rhythm. The Boilermakers ended the night scoring efficiently, putting up 1.26 points per possession and knocking down nearly 43% of their threes.

But the real backbreaker for Alabama was the rebounding battle. Purdue absolutely owned the glass, and Smith, Kaufman-Renn, and Oscar Cluff were the engine of that dominance. Between the three of them, they grabbed 33 of Purdue’s 52 rebounds. And with this win, Purdue continued their recent streak against Alabama. It’s now three straight seasons the Boilermakers have taken down the Tide: first at a neutral site in Toronto in 2023, then at home, and now in one of college basketball’s toughest road environments.

The win came even amidst a scare.

Just as Purdue was trying to shut the door on Alabama, Trey Kaufman-Renn suddenly dropped to the baseline near the bench. For a moment, it looked bad, but it wasn’t his injury flaring up. The trainers were working on his quad and calf with a Theragun. So, pure cramps.

The timing was rough because right before the cramps hit, Kaufman-Renn had basically flipped the game on its head with his feel and passing. He strung together three straight assists (a lob to Jacobsen, a Fletcher Loyer three, then another layup for Jacobsen), giving Purdue a bit of breathing room at 79–71 with just over five minutes left. Then came the cramp and Alabama’s burst, trimming the lead to 80–77. Kaufman-Renn got back in just before the Tide tied it at 80 with under two minutes left.

But Braden Smith didn’t let the moment linger. He attacked immediately, finishing a layup that broke the tie, and Purdue never lost control again. Kaufman-Renn barely scored after halftime, but his early imprint mattered. Smith took the baton and ran with it. The first half was Renn’s, and the second one was Smith’s.

Trey Kaufman-Renn’s rebounding dominance