Zach Edey powers Purdue past North Carolina State in Final Four as Boilermakers reach title game

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Purdue center Zach Edey (15) grabs the ball in front of North Carolina State forward Ben Middlebrooks (34) in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament at State Farm Stadium.

Purdue beat the North Carolina State 63-50 Saturday at the Final Four, breaking open the game with a surge midway through the second half.

No. 1 seed Purdue (34-4) will play the winner of the Connecticut-Alabama game for the national title Monday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The only other appearance in the championship game for the Boilermakers came in 1969, when they lost to UCLA.

Zach Edey, Purdue’s 7-4 center who is the two-time national player of the year, had 20 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the first player in tournament history to record six consecutive games of 20 point and 10 rebounds.

“It’s all we’ve been talking about for the whole year,” Edey said about reaching the title game. “It’s what we’ve been talking about for four years now. Just to be able to play and accept that challenge. Whoever comes out of this next game is going to be a great team. But we’re going to lock in our game plan and execute.”

Lance Jones had 14 points with four important 3-pointers, and Fletcher Lawyer had 11 points for the Boilermakers, who last year were just the second team to lose as a No. 1 seed to a No. 16 seed in the first round. Now they’re one win from a national title.

“It feels great,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “That’s what (Zach) always talked about. He didn’t come back to win a couple games in the tournament. He came back to compete for a national championship but you’ve got to put yourself in position first. Obviously, we’re here now.”

DJ Horne led NC State with 20 points and DJ Burns, the Wolfpack’s dynamic center, was held to 8 points after some early foul trouble. NC State struggled from the field, hitting 36.8% from the field and just 26.3% from the 3-point line.

NC State (26-15) was making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1983, when the Wolfpack upset…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/zach-edey-powers-purdue-past-001039710.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-04-07 00:10:39

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