TORONTO, CANADA – Alabama could not stop Zach Edey as the Crimson Tide fell short in Toronto to start a tough three game stretch.

Edey scored 37 points in the game, and was a perfect 11 for 11 from the line. It was clear that Alabama wanted to guard him with as many guys as possible, but with the foul trouble being what it was, Purdue took advantage of that.

28 free throws were attempted by Purdue in the game, and it was clear that there was real trouble on the defensive end by Alabama not fouling the Boilermakers. Edey was going to get his points anyways, but having two guys foul out and another player with four was not doing the defense any favors.

The biggest problem for Alabama tonight was the physicality in the second half. The Crimson Tide were able to bring it to Purdue in the first half a little bit, but the second half was a struggle to establish the ball inside.

The bright spot for the Crimson Tide was Mark Sears, who had a real breakout game in what has already been a breakout season for the guard. He was able to score 35 points and shot 50 percent from three.

“(Mark Sears) has played in a lot of these big games. He was ready to go.” Head Coach Nate Oats said.

Sears could not do it by himself in the end, and had a costly miss late in the game that would have cut the Purdue lead to three. Overall though, if he keeps this level up, Alabama should have no problems against most of their schedule.

Grant Nelson and Mohamed Wague both scored 11 points, but those were them along with Sears were the only three players in double-digits for the Crimson Tide today.  They both had good games in other areas as well, with Nelson grabbing a team high seven rebounds, while Wague got three steals primarily guarding Edey.

More on the positive front for Alabama, this was a game they were expected to lose, and they competed and even had a nine point lead in the second half at one point. But it just was not enough and when you play a player like Zach Edey, it’s tough to win those games.

“Our kids battled, went toe-to-toe with them for 40 minutes. Just need to find a way to get some wins in these big games,” Oats said.

Up next for Alabama is another tough test, as No. 10 Creighton hosts them in Omaha in what should be another thriller. The Blue Jays are more in Alabama’s wheelhouse, and both teams want to shoot the ball and shoot it often.

Expect Alabama to go into that game with a sense of urgency and confidence, as they cannot afford two losses in a row with No. 1 Arizona coming up soon.