TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball assistant Ryan Pannone stopped practice Thursday to shout over at Rutgers transfer center Clifford Omoruyi.
“Cliff is anybody going to be able to hear that call in Mackey Arena?,” Pannone asked, referencing the noisy venue No. 2 Alabama will encounter when it travels to face No. 13 Purdue on Friday.
“No,” Omoruyi replied reluctantly.
No one on Alabama’s roster knows the challenge of playing in front of Purdue’s home fans better than Omoruyi. During his four seasons at Rutgers, the graduate big man played three games in the 14,240-capacity arena. His Rutgers side was 1-2 in those games, upsetting then-No. 1 Purdue 65-64 on Jan. 2, 2023.
Omoruyi averaged 10 points and five rebounds while shooting 35.7% from the floor in his three previous games inside Mackey Arena. He’s 2-4 all-time against Purdue, averaging 10.67 points, 5.33 rebounds and one block over that span. That’s not bad, considering he matched up against two-time Naismith Award winner Zach Edey all six times.
“I think he knows the level of noise, the crowd environment that’s there,” Oats said. “He’s had some decent games against them, too. He played Edey, I mean it’s hard to play Edey well. He’s the most dominant big in college basketball in a long time. But I thought he’s done well against Purdue at times.”
Purdue won’t have Edey, who has since moved on to the NBA. The Boilermakers will also be without 7-foot-4 freshman center Daniel Jacobsen, who suffered a season-ending leg injury last week.
Still, Purdue’s lineup features 7-foot-2 sophomore Will Berg at center as well as 6-foot-9 junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who is averaging 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds through three games.
“This is a team that has maybe been the best in the country at developing bigs, getting good bigs with high potential that want to go there,” Oats said. “They do a great job of developing them. So they still have good bigs, and Cliff’s going to have to play really well for us.”
And, of course, Mackey’s crowd is expected to come up big for the home Boilermakers.
Omoruyi has experience dealing with the Purdue faithful, while Alabama’s other veterans have all dealt with similarly hostile venues throughout their careers.
However, Friday’s game will be the first college road test for Alabama freshmen Labaron Philon, Derrion Reid and Aiden Sherrell, who have all played significant roles for the Tide so far this season.
“We tell them the environment’s going to be great,” Oats said. “But I also told them this morning in video, ‘The toughest competitors I’ve ever coached have been at their best in the toughest environments.”
Oats referenced Brandon Miller’s performance during Alabama’s win at South Carolina two seasons ago as an example. Facing intense scrutiny from the Gamecocks fans, Miller dropped a career-high 41 points and eight rebounds while leading the Tide to a 78-76 overtime victory.
“If you want to be a competitor, it’s a lot easier to be a frontrunner, look great at home when the whole crowd’s behind you,” Oats said. “The real competitors show up on the road.”
Alabama’s trip to Purdue will be the first of six straight games away from Coleman Coliseum. After taking on the Boilermakers, the Tide will face Illinois in Birmingham before traveling to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival where it is guaranteed to face Houston and Rutgers as well as one of No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 15 Creighton, San Diego State or Oregon. From there, Alabama will wrap up its cross-country tour with a road trip to No. 10 North Carolina.
Alabama’s next home game will be against No. 15 Creighton on Dec. 14.
“That’s the way it worked out with how many home games we try to get,” Oats said. “We have the three right out of the gate. We want good games, you want some neutrals. We have Creighton at home, if you want good home games, these high majors aren’t getting bought, you’ve got to set up home and away. Purdue’s coming back down here next year, Creighton we went there [last year], they’re coming back. We’re trying to get those teams to come to our place, we’ve got to go to their place.”
No. 2 Alabama (3-0) and No. 13 Purdue are set to tipoff at 6 p.m. CT on Friday. The game will be available to watch via Peacock.
