There’s nowhere to hide for Alabama basketball during its next three games.

The Crimson Tide is about to find out where it stands among the elite teams in college basketball, how well its offense can sustain itself against the best and if it worked out enough of the kinks and struggles on defense to hold up against teams that will expose Alabama with ease if its defensive problems continue to linger.

The Crimson Tide is unranked after earlier losses to Clemson and Ohio State. While the Tigers have since climbed into the top 25 and the Buckeyes received 122 points to be ranked in the latest AP Poll, those matchups raised questions as to whether the Alabama's game can rise to the level of its upcoming foe, No. 4 Purdue.

Alabama has a tall task (pun certainly intended) when its faces the Boilermakers in the backyard of Purdue’s best player. Alabama coach Nate Oats has never shied away from a nonconference challenge and will learn a lot about his team as it begins a seemingly brutal stretch of games ahead of conference play.

Here's everything you need to know about the matchup:

Who: Alabama (6-2) vs. No. 4 Purdue (8-1)

When: 12:30 CT, Saturday, Dec. 9

Where: Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Canada

Watch: Fox (Play-By-Play: Jason Benetti, Analyst: Robbie Hummel)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201(Play-By-Play: Roger Hoover, Analyst: Bryan Passink, Engineer: Tom Stipe)

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 20.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.0 apg, 58.9% FG, 51.6% 3-pt

Aaron Estrada: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Graduate Student

Stats: 16.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 51.7% FG, 45.7% 3-pt

Rylan Griffen: 6-foot-6, 190 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 8.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 40.0% FG, 38.1% 3-pt

Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 14.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 43.7% FG, 24.0% 3-pt

Mohamed Wague: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, junior

Stats: 4.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 68.4% FG

Braden Smith: 6-feet, 175 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 11.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, ​​7.1 apg, 48.8% FG, 42.3% 3-pt

Lance Jones: 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, fifth year senior

Stats: 11.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42.7% FG, 36.2% 3-pt

Fletcher Loyer: 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 10.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 40.5% FG, 38.5% 3-pt

Trey Kaufman-Renn: 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, 48.8% FG, 37.5% 3-pt

Zach Edey: 7-foot-4, 300 pounds, senior

Stats: 23.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.9 bpg, 63.6% FG, 73.3% FT

There's been one primary question on the minds of Alabama basketball fans, pundits, as well as Oats and his coaching staff since the buzzer sounded after Alabama’s win over Arkansas State: How will the Crimson Tide stop Zach Edey?

That question hasn’t been successfully answered for most of Edey’s Boilermakers career. This season, Edey’s 23.7 points per game is the third most in the country.

His scoring numbers stick out even further given the fact that only one of the other nine players ranked in the top 10 in scoring has a 3-point percentage under 36.4%. Edey hasn't even attempted a 3 in his Purdue career.

"He's pretty much impossible to guard one-on-one, so you're constantly having to trap him and play out of it," Oats said. "There have been a few teams who maybe tried to do it without trapping him, but he's really hard to guard one-on-one. He's also a good passer, and they've done a good job putting shooting all around him."

The 7-foot-4 behemoth also averages 11.2 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the nation. His total domination of the paint will put all hands on deck for Alabama. That’s assuming all of its deck hands will be available.

The Crimson Tide was without forward Nick Pringle against Arkansas State due to suspension, while Grant Nelson injured his leg against the Red Wolves.

Oats said Nelson did not practice Thursday, but that the plan was to let him practice Friday and see how he feels. As for Pringle, Oats seemed confident that the Crimson Tide would have him available Saturday.

Alabama will need both players to have a chance at slowing Edey down. Pringle and Mohamed Wague, who had is best outing of the season against Arkansas State, will likely man the interior defensively. On offense, Nelson’s ability to play on the perimeter will help move Edey out of the paint to create driving lanes for Alabama.

Should Alabama be without a combination of Pringle and Nelson, a strategy for the Crimson Tide could be to contain everyone around Edey.

In Purdue’s loss to Northwestern, Edey scored a season-high 35 points and added 14 rebounds. The Boilermakers outrebounded Northwestern 52-27 but scrapped its way to an overtime win through great guard play and by limiting Edey’s supporting cast.

“I thought [Northwestern] did a really good job attacking them on their offensive end,” Oats said. “Putting them in tough spots to guard, going at certain defenders on Purdue and then they had some breaks they needed too.”

While Edey had his typically dominant performance, Northwestern held Purdue’s other starters to relatively inefficient shooting numbers. Braden Smith shot just 5-for-12 from the field and had 12 points and Lance Jones was just 2-for-11 with 10 points.

Alabama will likely need some breaks of its own Saturday, but Northwestern laid out a replicable formula for the Crimson Tide on both ends. Offensively, the Wildcats shot 50% from 3 compared to just 26.3% for the Boilermakers and Northwestern guard Boo Buie had 31 points in the win.

Both Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada have the shot-creation and scoring ability that saw Buie have success against Purdue. The duo's ability to establish Alabama’s tempo and hot shooting will be crucial against a Boilermakers side that likes to slow the game down.

Purdue averages 70 points per 100 possessions, which ranks No. 130 in the country according to KenPom. If Alabama can speed the Boilermakers up offensively, deny Edey the ball and force difficult shots and turnovers from Purdue’s guards, the Crimson Tide can have success Saturday.

Moral victories are a hard sell in sports. Failing to pick up a positive result no matter who the opponent is doesn’t feel good for anyone on the losing end. For Alabama on Saturday however, a loss can still come with a tremendous amount of growth.

That growth and toughness, especially on the defensive end, is what Oats wants to see from his side against its next three opponents. When speaking to the media, Oats referred to the 2022/23 Crimson Tide's road win over Houston as an example of the mental fortitude that he wants this season’s squad to unlock.

“That team was mentally tough enough to hang in there and keep fighting," Oats said. "Our defense kept us in there and we came back and won the game on the road against one of the best teams in the country.”

Oats said he hasn’t seen that mental toughness or defensive energy from this season’s team yet. It’s a high bar for Alabama to reach, but Oats understands what getting to that level will do for the Crimson Tide and challenges his players accordingly.

“Do we have the mental toughness when things aren't going well to continue to guard, stick with the game plan don't get discouraged and then just hang in there and see what happens," Oats said. "Our offense is good enough to come back if our defense will keep us in the game. So I'm really looking for how good can our defense get against some of these top offensive teams in the country?”

The results of these next three games beginning with Saturday’s clash against the Boilermakers might not go Alabama’s way. As Alabama gets closer to conference play, however, these games can help the Crimson Tide's defense learn how to make enough plays to keep its offense within striking distance against SEC foes.