NC State 50 - 63 Purdue summary, stats, scores and highlights | NCAA Final Four
Edey spurred a 14-1 run in the second half and the Pack couldn't keep up. Edye ended the night with 20 and 12 rebounds as the Boilermakers put an end to NC State's Cinderella story.
Purdue will now relax, watch the second semifinal and begin preparing for the winner of UCONN-Alabama on Monday night.
Let's not forget how dominant Edey is on the defensive end. While his Player of the Year awards come from his stats on the offensive end, he is a beast in the paint, and he kept DJ Burns to just 8 points and 4 assists on the night. He also had a couple blocks, and affected countless other shots.
Lance Jones played Robin to Edey's Batman, hitting four threes and dropping 14 points in the National Semifinal. Purde took a double digit lead early on and kept hold of that lead the entire way.
With Edey clogging up so much space in the middle, the Boilermakers perimeter shooters were wide open all night, and they took advantage. They went 10/25 and hit nearly half their points from downtown.
The Purdue Boilermakers are heading to the National Championship after going leading the NC State Wolfpack the entire 40 minutes in the first semifinal from Arizona. Zach Edey lead his team to victory with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The big man got going early in a match up with DJ Burns that was the talk of the town coming into the Final Four.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Purdue Boilermakers are going to the National Championship, looking for their first title in program history!
Horne hits another three ball and that will end his great night but it's not going to be enough.
Taylor down the lane off the break and he lays it up and in with 1:30 to go.
Middlebrooks with the lay up from down low after the feed from Morsell and that ends the Purdue run.
Gillis to the FT line after the foul on Horne and he hits both FTs. That's a 14-1 run for PUR.
Smith pulls the trigger from deep and snaps the net with another three ball!
Timeout Pack with 3:12 to go in the 2nd half.
Edey looks out to the corner for Loyer and he drills the three ball and the lead is the largest of the night.
Taylor to the line and he hits one of two FTs after the foul on Loyer.
Edey back in the paint and he gets another turn around jump hook to fall over Middlebrooks.
Jones gets the floater to fall down the lane and the lead is back to double digits.
Loyer to the line after the foul on Diarra and he hits both FTs.
Horne pulls up for another mid range jumper and he's got 20 on the night!
Horne with a dime down to Diarra slashing to the rack and he lays it up and in.
Edey gets the ball off the inbound on the baseline and gets the jump hook to go in the paint.
Timeout with 9:51 to go in the 2nd half!
Horne pulls the trigger from downtown after getting left alone in transition!
Edey with the jump hook over Burns and those two are going at it!
Burns with the fade away from outside the lane and he hits it over Edey out of the timeout.
Jones was left all alone on the wing and Smith hit him in transition for the deep ball!
Timeout NC State with 12:40 to go.
Kick out from Edey to Gillis in the corner and that ends a five minute scoreless run.
Horne to the line after the foul on Loyer and he hits both FTS, the first of the night for NC State.
Burns bullying Edey to the iron and lays it up off the glass.
Kaufman-Renn to the line after the foul on Burns, his third, and he hits one of two FTs.
Jones gets the second half started with a three ball from wing, his third of the night!
WE ARE BACK IN ARIZONA FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!
Burns got all the headlines coming in, but it was Horne keeping the Pack close with 13 first half points.
The Pack got out in transition, and it changed the game. They had three straight lay ups on the break and cut the lead to within three.
Purdue has hit five of their 12 three balls in the first half but turned the ball over eight times. They lost a little control late in the half after NC State got warmed up.
Burns has just four points but has 4 assists and has been the anchor of the offense for most of the first half.
It wasn't just Edey, Smith and Loyer got going from downtown. Both of them have a couple triples on their account.
O'Connell drilled an early three after a cold start from the Wolfpack, but went down with an ankle injury and didn't return.
Zach Edey got going early and didn't slow down. He is having his way in the paint, even against the big body of DJ Burns.
WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME HERE FROM ARIZONA!
The Boilermakers led the entire 20 minutes but NC State fought their way back into the game in the last few minutes.
Edey kicks it out for Loyer who drills the three ball from the wing!
Timeout Purdue with 20 seconds to go in the half.
Horne off the handoff in the corner and he hits the deep two off the dribble.
Horne pulls up from the FT line and drops the mid range jumper.
Smith dumps it down to Kaufman-Renn who gets the turn around jump hook to go off the glass.
Taylor off the pull up on the step back and he drills it from the wing. We have a five point game.
Edey gets the offensive board and the put back to go.
Pass running the break and he eurosteps through the lane and lays it up off the reverse.
Horne puts it on the deck and hits the runner down the lane.
Pass off the bench and gets the baseline floater to fall.
Edy to the line after the timeout and he hits both FTs after the foul on Burns.
Gills was left wide open at the top of the key after Smith found him on the kick out.
TV timeout with 6:29 to go in the first half.
Horne strokes a three ball off another assist from Burns!
Edy back in the paint and he rattles it home.
Burns with an awkward floater from the FT line and that falls.
Jones drills a three ball off on the wing the kick out from Edy!
Smith almost lost it, but the ball found it's way to Edy and he lais it up and in.
Burns providing from the top of the key and he finds Taylor for the lay up off the backdoor cut.
Edy with another turnaround and he's looking unstoppable tonight.
Burns with the turn around and jump hook over Edy, returning him the favor.
Edy backs down Burns in the paint and hits the jump hook off the front of the rim.
O'Connell drills the corner three ball after the dish from Burns!
Smith got his dunk on the break blocked but Purdue kept the ball and Jones ended up with a three ball!
TImeout with under 16:00 to go in the first half.
Horne pulls up on the baseline and drills the mid range jumper. He's got both FGs for NC State to start the night.
Kaufman-Renn to the line after the foul by Diarra and he hits both FTs.
Loyer with the three ball after the offensive board and kick out from Jones!
Burne finds Horne on the baseline cut and h lays it up with the reverse.
Edu gets his night started with a jump hook with the left hand in the paint.
Kaufman-Renn gets the offensive board and hits the turn around hook shot on the baseline.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM GLENVILLE FOR THE FIRST SEMIFINAL!!
Tourney history: Purdue
The Purdue Boilermakers have never won the tournament, but they do know what it’s like to be in the Final Four. It’s been a while since they have been this deep in the tournament. Forty Four years to be exact, but they are back in the semifinals and have a chance to get back to the National Championship for the first time since 1969. This is relatively uncharted territory for this program, but they have their best chance ever to bring title glory to West Layayette, but they are going to have to get through this year’s Darlings before they start dreaming about National Championship glory.
Tourney history: NC State
We all remember the scened. Lorenzo Charles tipping in an air ball to beat the buzzer as six seed NC State downed Houston in the National Championship and Jim Valvano running around the court like a maniac looking for someone to hug. It was one of the most historic moments of the NCAA Tournament, and the Wolfpack’s finest hour in program history. While that is the most iconic moment of NC State’s Big Dance history it’s not their only title winning season. They won the tournament back in 1974, just nine years before Valvano’s literal run to the championship. This is their fourth time in the Final Four. Before ’83 and ’74 they reached the national semifinal in 1950. No one expected the Pack to be here this year, but it wouldn’t be the first time NC State’s Cinderella run ends in title glory,
Star watch: Purdue
There is no secret to the Boilermakers success. They have the best player in the country and they rely on him early and often. Zach Edy is a 7’4’ wrecking ball in the paint. He is on the verge of winning his second AP National Player of the Year award after averaging 25 and 12.2 rebounds this season and has saved the best for last. Over the last four games, Edy has scored 23 points or more while leading Purdue to the Final Four. His last game against Tennessee was his masterpiece of the season, scoring 40 points and dragging down 16 rebounds in the narrow win over the Volunteers and tonight he will have to go up against one of the in vogue big men of the tournament.
Star watch: NC State
He is being called Gen-Z Bo, thanks to him size and stature which reminds many of Zach Randolph, but he likens his game to Hakeem Olajuwan. The big man can pass the rock, create off the dribble and finish around the rim. His statistics aren’t jaw dropping. He is averaging just 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2.8 assists but he has fueled this incredible run into the Big Dance as Cinderella continues their miracle chase for the title. The senior from Rock Hill, South Carolina is averaging 18.2 points a game and dropped 29 in the Wolfpack’s win over Duke in the Elite Eight.
How they got here: Purdue
Purdue were one of the preseason favorites to be in the Final Four, and Zach Edy and company delivered the goods during the regular season. They lost just four games and earned a one seed despite losing their conference championship against Wisconsin in a heartbreak overtime game. The Boilermakers spared themselves of any surprises in the first round against 16 seed Grambling winning by 28 points, which set up a second round match against Utah State. They breezed by the Aggies in a 39 point win and met the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Sweet 16. They got through a tricky matchup against the Zags winning by double digits again thanks to a third straight brilliant performance from Edy. The Purdue big man then had a night for the history books in the Elite Eight as he dropped 40 on Tennessee in a six point win over the Volunteers to return to the Final four, over four decades later.
How they got here: NC State
The NC State Wolfpack were supposed to be here. In fact, they weren’t really even supposed to be in the Big Dance. They had an average regular season at best, entering the ACC Tournament at 17-14 but they caught fire at the right time and rolled through their conference tourney to snatch an automatic bid by winning five games in five days and topping the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Final. It hasn’t been an easy road to the Final Four considering they were an 11 seed coming into the tournament. They continued the upset train in the first round, downing Texas Tech to keep their win streak rolling and then had to go to overtime to defeat a 14 seed in Oakland. Burns Jr. led the way in that game scoring 24 points and setting up a match up with the 2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16. That was a low scoring game in which the Pack held the Golden Eagles to just 58 points to set up a rematch with ACC foe Duke. Burns Jr. took over again, scoring 29 points and leading NC State back to the Final Four the first time in a long time.
We are live from Arizona
Hello everyone and welcome to the first of two tips here from Glendale, as the Purdue Boilermakers are in the Final Four for the first time since 1980 and they are doing it riding on the shoulders of their 7’4” center. He will have his work cut out for him tonight as DJ Burns and the Wolfpack have upset on their mind after returning to the national semifinal for the first time in 40 years. The winner of tonight’s game will take on the the winner of the second semi where the UCONN Huskies take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
NC State vs. Purdue: Final Four
College basketball’s biggest stage is set and we have a huge night full of basketball as the semifinalist look to reach the National Championship in tonight’s two Final Four matchups from Glendale, Arizona. In our first match up it’s the likely two time AP Player of the Year Zach Edy taking on this year’s Cinderella NC State for a spot in the title game and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s game from State Farm Stadium.