Alabama gets rolled at Purdue

The 2024-25 college basketball season is not quite two weeks old, and Hoops HQ is not quite three weeks old. You might say, then, that we’re not quite twins, but we sure do feel like family.

We’ve had a great run of early stories at HHQ, and we are growing fast. Meanwhile, on the court, the hits have likewise kept coming. The early nonconference games have produced a steady diet of delectable delights, from Gonzaga-Baylor to the doubleheader at the Champions Classic to last night’s clash between Alabama and Purdue. Some of the top women’s teams have already been pushed (South Carolina by Michigan) or lost (N.C. State to South Carolina and Duke to Maryland).

As for this weekend’s games, there are none between Top 25 teams, but there are two that have sentimental value. The first is today’s meeting between Wake Forest and Xavier. This is the annual Skip Prosser Classic, named for the beloved coach who led both programs. The other game is a family affair between Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm and his son Richard Pitino’s New Mexico Lobos on Sunday in Madison Square Garden. If you think Rick has lost a step, you should try keeping up with him for a day as our own Alex Squadron did — or at least, tried to.

It's going to be a great weekend and a great season, and it’s all going to unfold here at Hoops HQ. Thanks for being a part of our community, and let’s all get ready for an awesome winter of hoops!

Seth Davis
Editor-in-Chief

ALABAMA’S BRUTAL GAUNTLET STARTS WITH A LOSS AT PURDUE

By Seth Davis

In college basketball, scheduling is more art than science. It’s also a philosophy. Ever since Nate Oats was the head coach and math teacher at Romulus (Mich.) High School, he hewed to the formulaic belief that the harder the competition, the greater the lesson. “Sometimes you almost need a loss, to be honest with you,” he said.

If that’s the case, then Oats got what he needed Friday night, when his No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide was knocked off by No. 13 Purdue, 87-78, in a predictably pitched environment inside Mackey Arena. There should be plenty of learning ahead because Alabama has now embarked on a seven-game nonconference gauntlet that may be unprecedented in modern college basketball history.

Austin Peay's Hansel Enmanuel had his left arm amputated at the age of six. This week, he threw down a monster dunk. See it here, on Hoops HQ’s Instagram.

GAME OF THE DAY: South Carolina @ No. 16 Indiana: Averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game, projected lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles leads the Gamecocks into Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers. This will be the first real test for Mike Woodson's new-look squad. 3:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.