What Illinois Learned From Alabama vs. Purdue – And How the Illini Can Use It

No. 14 Illinois (3-0) has a matchup with Colgate (1-2) on Friday (8 p.m. CT, B1G+), before it takes on No. 8 Alabama in Chicago next Wednesday. It goes without saying: The Illini must first channel all of their efforts towards taking care of business against the Raiders – but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to the Crimson Tide.

And in Bama’s competitive battle against No. 2 Purdue on Thursday, we learned a lot about what can be expected from the Crimson Tide next Wednesday – along with some initial intel ahead of the key late-January date when Illinois squares off with Purdue at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.

Here’s what we learned about Alabama in its 87-80 loss against Purdue on Thursday, as well as a quick glimpse at what to expect against the Boilermakers down the road.

How Illinois can attack Alabama

Nate Oats’ club is known for its offense – not so much its defense. Given the Crimson Tide’s pace, they are going to naturally be prone to giving up more points. But allowing 81.7 points per game – the third highest figure among Power 5 programs – is never an encouraging sign for a defense. (To offer a bit more context, KenPom has Alabama’s defense rated at No. 51 in the country.)

With that in mind, Illinois – which has arguably the best offense in the nation – shouldn’t have many problems scoring. But in the interest of leaving no stone unturned, here are a few ways the Crimson Tide D may be vulnerable based on what it showed in the loss to Purdue.

1. Pick and roll

Unfortunately, despite all of Kylan Boswell’s brilliance, Illinois doesn’t have a ball-screen maestro the likes of Braden Smith on its roster. But the Illini have a different, less conventional weapon in their arsenal: guard-to-big screens (and even guard-to-guard and big-to-big).

Through three games, Illinois has shown off its unique pick-and-roll ability with, for example, freshman forward David Mirkovic working as the ball-handler while Boswell sets the screen.

First impression of David Mirkovic is extremely impressive. The feel is apparent and Illinois is using him creatively

- Screener or initiator in pick-and-rolls
- Legit handle
- Early transition duck-in to draw a foul
- and then the jumper is clean pic.twitter.com/wFpdwpPQT6
— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) October 19, 2025

What that does is put Boswell’s defender – likely a guard – into a position he's rarely, if ever, been in before, along with drawing out the big man matched up with Mirkovic. And with Alabama fighting through ball screens, it will allow Mirkovic – or whoever is on ball – to get downhill, with just a guard waiting between him and the basket.

This figures to be most effective with the Illini scheming up the guard-to-guard screens between Andrej Stojakovic and Boswell. If Boswell draws the 6-foot-1 Aden Holloway, as he likely will, and Labaron Philon sticks Stojakovic, then Boswell can set ball screens to free up Stojakovic going downhill at Holloway, allowing him to take advantage of his size in a similar manner to what we saw against Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson on Tuesday.

2. Work through the post

Against the Boilermakers, the Crimson Tide elected to double Trey Kaufman-Renn on every post touch. Considering Illinois doesn’t currently have a post presence as potent as Kaufman-Renn but every Illini is a threat from beyond the arc (Purdue had two non-shooting bigs on the floor at nearly all times, and Bama sent the double from there) makes it likely the Tide won’t double the post.

And if that’s the case, then Mirkovic should get a chance to go to work. Even posting up Boswell against Holloway or Stojakovic on Philon could prove to be pretty successful. And if a double comes, the Illini can play out of it and hit open shooters or cutters.

At the end of the day, offense shouldn't be much of an issue for the Illini. The other end of the floor, however, figures to be tougher sledding.

How Illinois can stop Alabama

Nov 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) guards Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) during the second half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

So here’s the quick breakdown of what the Crimson Tide have to offer: The backcourt of Holloway and Philon is perhaps the most complete pair of offensive guards in the nation, and that duo is surrounded by shooters everywhere – in a setup similar to that of Illinois.

And although both Holloway and Philon are long distance threats – especially the former – their game, which reflects that of their team, is to get two feet in the paint and force defenses to collapse. There isn’t much set offense from Alabama – and there doesn’t need to be. The Crimson Tide have the shooting to stretch out opposing defenses and the downhill guards to take advantage.

Aden Holloway against No. 5 St. John's:

21 PTS | 9-18 FG | 4 AST | 0 TO pic.twitter.com/as0ccCUuNA
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 8, 2025

What it means for the Illini

Alabama has the makeup to give Illinois a taste of its own medicine. Its shooters will pull the Illini rim protectors out of the paint – which means one thing: on-ball defense is imperative. With minimal help, the ball needs to stay in front and out of the paint.

Going against the ultra-skilled Holloway and Philon, that will be no easy task. But Boswell has proven himself to be a shutdown defender (he held Alabama’s Mark Sears scoreless last season), and Stojakovic just put himself onto the edge of that category with his defense against Texas Tech.

The next key factor is one the Illini will certainly be well prepared for: the glass. Again, Bama's style is comparable to that of Illinois: get triples up and rebound the misses. The Crimson Tide are fantastic at chasing down their long misses, meaning everyone needs to hit a body for the Illini – specifically guards, who will be closer to the long rebounds on the perimeter. Fortunately for Underwood, he has been harping on rebounding all season long, and should have his guys on their A-game in that area.

Early Purdue preview

Nov 7, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter talks with guard Braden Smith (3) during the first half against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Illinois won’t face Purdue until late January, but it's never too early to preview a pair of Big Ten heavyweights. Here’s our initial thoughts on how the Illini can score on the Boilermakers and how they can get stops based on what Purdue showed against Alabama.

Scoring

The Boilermakers – who boast that aforementioned two-big attack – are going to have quite a bit of trouble matching up with the Illini. With the shooting and driving ability Illinois has across the board, there simply won’t be any easy matchups for Purdue – especially in the frontcourt. The lumbering Oscar Cluff will surely guard Tomislav Ivisic (assuming he returns healthy from a knee injury by then), while Kaufman-Renn will likely match up with Mirkovic.

The already-poor paint defense will be made even worse by the Illini's shooting bigs pulling Cluff and Kaufman-Renn away from the basket, and Illinois should still, despite Purdue’s addition of the glass-cleaning Cluff, feast on the offensive boards.

Defense

This is the end of the floor that Stojakovic may have just entirely altered. After what he showed against Christian Anderson of Texas Tech, don’t be surprised if Stojakovic is the go-to option on Purdue’s Braden Smith, as his length, athleticism and ability to get over screens could prove to make Smith’s life extremely difficult, as it will present a look that the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year rarely sees.

Braden Smith TOOK OVER in the second half against Bama 🔥

29 PTS | 7 REB | 4 AST and a huge road win pic.twitter.com/6hqUo0Pwtk
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 14, 2025

The Boilermakers still thrive on that two-man game with Smith and Kaufman-Renn, meaning the Illini need to find a defensive option agile enough to slow down Kaufman-Renn on the short roll yet sturdy enough to hold his own when he inevitably puts his shoulder into their chest. Lucky for Underwood, he still has more than two full months to figure it out.