It is disappointing losing to Purdue for a third time in a row, but the beauty of tonight's loss is this will make Alabama better in March. This team had plenty of opportunities to win this game but getting beat on the boards as they did and the three point shot being so off in the second half will never beat a team as good as the Boilermakers. Clearly this team will have to continue to be tougher on the boards and not having one player not in double digits on the glass while Purdue had two is a little worrisome and is one area the Tide have struggled throughout Nate Oats' tenure in Tuscaloosa.
On a more positive note, Aden Holloway had another great game, and it is amazing to see how he has improved as a player since transferring from Auburn. He might end up being the most important piece down the stretch LaBaron Philon had a tough night from field, but I feel good that this will be one of his outputs to the season on the offensive end. It was good to see that for a second straight game this was not sloppy with the ball only committing 6 turnovers. I would like to continue to see more from both Aiden Sherrell and Noah Williamson going forward.
After a tough couple of days of practice I expect this team to respond well against another Big Ten team in Chicago on Wednesday. Alabama will be looking to beat the Illini for a second straight season before ending the month against Gonzaga and UNLV. This team is more than capable to beat all three teams, but the most important part of November will be continuing to gel and be tougher on the glass. Even in defeat tonight showed this season is going to be a lot of fun and the potential for greatness is very high with this team again.