3 ranked college basketball teams on upset alert this week

No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers vs. Alabama on 12/9

An upset wouldn't be new to the Boilermakers, who just fell 92-88 in overtime at Northwestern on Friday to start Big Ten play 0-1. There is immense pressure on Purdue this season to bounce back from losing to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament and head coach Matt Painter put together a rigorous non-conference schedule to get his team ready for March.

Purdue has already played Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette on their way to a title at the Maui Invitational and has a neutral site tilt against Arizona set for next Saturday. There's another big game on tap this weekend against Alabama, however, that could prove to be quite tricky for the Boilermakers.

The Crimson Tide fell out of the AP Top 25 this week after getting upset by Clemson in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, dropping Alabama to 5-2 on the year. There is a lot to like with Alabama, however, as the Crimson Tide have one of the nation's most explosive offenses, ranking second in the country with 94.9 points per game.

Nate Oats' team likes to play at a fast tempo, which could be a challenge for a Purdue team that likes to set up in the half court offense and run their attack through Zach Edey. Add in a neutral site with this game being part of the Hall of Fame Series in Toronto and there is a good shot the Crimson Tide get a signature win by pushing the pace.