WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Alabama basketball was unable to take control of the tempo in its first road test of the season. The Crimson Tide hung tough against a physical Boilermakers side but never found a consistent scoring pulse in its 87-78 loss.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's first loss of the season.

Alabama had to rotate through a few different lineups to find its groove away from home. A lid once again seemed to be covering the rim in the Tide’s third game of the season. Alabama struggled to hit shots from the outside and Purdue’s defense frazzled the Tide and slowed its offense down in half-court sets. Alabama was held to just 1.21 points per possession as Purdue largely controlled the tempo.

Mark Sears was held scoreless until the 8:10 mark of the first half. Alabama’s star guard was never going to be held completely silent and finished with 13 points and five assists. But every basket seemed to be hard to come by in the first half as Purdue walled up and prevented Sears and others from getting open catch-and-shoot looks.

Though Alabama had an advantage in the paint on paper given Purdue no longer has two-time Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey manning the middle, that didn’t stop the Boilermakers from challenging Alabama’s bigs. Alabama only just won the rebounding battle 35-32 and Purdue had success on the offensive glass in the first half and finished with nine second-chance points to help take a narrow lead into the break.

Alabama seemed like it was turning the tempo to start the second half. The Tide hit three straight 3s to start the period and looked like it was about to put its signature stamp on the game with a blitzing run that has become synonymous with Oats’ Tide teams.

It was the Boilermakers, however, who proved to have the killer blow. After Aden Holloway drilled a 3 to make it 65-59, Purdue went on a 13-0 run, beating Alabama at its own game with quick smart shots and closing the gap on the glass to prevent Alabama from having second-chance opportunities.

While Alabama found some answers in the paint offensively, Purdue continued to close the gap and the Tide's output inside. The Boilermakers had 34 points in the paint. Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn had a field day in isolation situations against both Grant Nelson and Aiden Sherrell. Kaufman-Renn led all scorers with 26 points and eight rebounds.

Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi was the Tide's best presence in the paint. Omoruyi finished with seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The Tide's early strong margins on the glass and in the paint was largely down to Omoruyi's effort and he was the only player with a positive box plus-minus rating at plus-11.

However, Omoruyi also picked up four fouls and crucially picked up his fourth just as Purdue started its run. With Oats forced to take Omoruyi out of the game, Alabama struggled to defend in the paint as Purdue took back and held onto the lead for the rest of the contest.

Purdue’s environment was no issue for freshman Labaron Philon. The former four-star recruit came off the bench to give Alabama a much-needed burst in the first half and made some excellent plays in a hostile environment.

Philon finished the game with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. More impressively, Philon also had just one turnover and showed off some excellent decision-making in a huge matchup against a physical team on the road. Philon continually took what the defense gave him and scored Alabama’s opening points of the second half on a kickout 3.

While Alabama's freshman guard fouled out of Saturday's contest, he was the brightest spark in an otherwise frustrating night offensively for the Crimson Tide. Philon's foul trouble is a sign of his occasional over-eagerness to make plays on both ends, but the freshman continues to display impressive growth in his first college season.

"Labaron has been really good," Oats said. "Probably better than what we thought he was going to be. I thought he had pretty good game tonight. But we got to keep developing our bench. We got to keep developing the young guys that they got to help us win a lot of like games this year.”

The Tide will look to regroup after suffering its first loss of the season. It will return to the state of Alabama for its next game. Alabama will face off against Illinois at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.