Purdue cruises past NC State to advance to the NCAA national championship for the first time since 1969, as the Boilermakers win 63-50 in the Final Four behind 20 points from Zach Edey.
Purdue advanced to the men’s national championship after defeating NC State 63-50 in the Final Four.
Behind AP Player of the Year Zach Edey’s 20 points and 12 rebounds, the Boilermakers ended the Wolfpack’s shock run to the national semifinal and set up a game against UConn or Alabama on Monday .
NC State trailed DJ Horne by 20 points, while fan favorite DJ Burns Jr. fought his way up by eight points.
Purdue’s run comes a year after being stunned by No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of March Madness.
However, longtime coach Matt Painter is just one win away from his first national championship.
Zach Edey led Purdue with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Boilermakers advanced
Edey (15) blocks NC State guard Casey Morsell’s shot during the second half
Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer (2) celebrates after scoring against North Carolina State
This is Purdue’s first trip to the final game for the first time since 1969, while its program is in the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
The team of Edey and coach Matt Painter has overcome every challenge so far. They did it this time despite a three-point night from their second-leading scorer, Braden Smith, who shot 1 of 9 (but finished with eight rebounds and six assists).
He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t buy a bucket. The NC State team that outscored Duke 55-37 after halftime in the Elite Eight this time shot 28.6 percent over the final 20 minutes — a cold spell that included open looks at galore that just wouldn’t fall.
It made for ugly hoops. At the start of the second half, the teams missed 10 straight shots between them.
Despite all of Smith’s struggles, he put the final dagger in NC State’s season.
It happened at the end of a sequence in which Horne shot a ball and Edey crushed NC State guard Jayden Taylor’s shot out of the paint, while on the other end, Fletcher Loyer then Smith made consecutive 3s.
Smith was part of an 8-0 run that pushed Purdue’s lead to 20. The only drama left was whether the Wolfpack would surpass its season low of scoring 52 points. They do not have.
