Purdue, Zach Edey top NC State, reach NCAA championship game
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- AfterPurdue's 63-50 win overNC Statein the Final Four at State Farm Stadium on Saturday, Boilermakers senior forward Mason Gillis sported a U-shaped scar on his forehead.
He could not identify the culprit.
"The scar? No idea," said Gillis, who finished with eight points. "Somebody scratched me."
It had been that kind of a game for the Boilermakers. There were too many turnovers and missed shots. But NC State couldn't find the rim, either, due to Purdue's renewed vigor on defense in the second half. And just like that: a Boilermakers squad that hit enough 3-pointers to sway the game (10-for-25) and relied on another outstanding effort by Zach Edey, the reigning Wooden Award winner, elevated itself to Monday's national championship.
"Just getting a win without any of the particulars is worth it, right? To be able to advance," said coach Matt Painter, who has led Purdue to its first national title game since 1969. "I always talk about that, trying to win a Big Ten championship. Everybody wants to talk about winning it. I said, 'Man, you got to get yourself in position before you can win one.' It's like winning a national championship. You can talk all you want, but if you're not going to play on Monday, you don't have a chance.
"Obviously, we put ourselves in a position to win one. You've got to give our guys credit. They've been able to battle back. They've also been able to handle a lot of adversity."
Yet, the Purdue locker room after the game was enveloped in humility that belied the moment. There were no cheers. Or fist pumps. Just a bunch of young folks who rested long enough to catch their breaths -- but had not yet completely exhaled.
A year after last season's loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA tournament, every person on the roster seemed to understand that Monday represents both a national title game and a chance to complete the final part of an unfinished redemption story.
'"[It's] what we've been talking about all year," said Edey, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. "The reason I came back is [to play in] games like this. The reason I'm playing college basketball for four years -- to finally get this game, it's big-time. We've obviously got to keep going and keep playing."
On the court, Purdue's vast improvement is obvious. The Boilermakers have been in the top three in 3-point shooting all season after spending the 2022-23 campaign as one of the worst Power 5 teams from beyond the arc (276th). They're also in the top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency, another double-digit improvement from last season.
And they have a refined Edey, a player who is more agile and fluid this season compared to last year, development that has positioned him to win a second Wooden Award -- something that hasn't happened since Ralph Sampson Jr. completed the feat in the 1980s.
"He has a nice touch around the basket," said Shaquille O'Neal, the Basketball Hall of Fame center and TV commentator who watched Edey's effort from the front row at State Farm Stadium. "He uses his body well. He's playing very well and he's staying out of foul trouble."
The team's on-court growth is apparent.
Yet, the journey to this moment started at The Bryant, a West Lafayette, Indiana, restaurant that serves ribeye cheesesteak egg rolls and a jalapeno 2.0 burger that's filled with ghost pepper cheese. The night before Purdue home games this season, the players would venture to The Bryant and other joints around town to convene, talk, laugh and focus on their own goals -- and sometimes worry, at the end of the night, about the hefty bill.
There, they could relax and shake the shadow of last season -- and the pressures of this one. If nothing else, they had one another on those nights.
"We've always been able to insulate ourselves from the outside noise, but this year was definitely a different task from what's happened the past few years with us," said senior forward Ethan Morton. "We savor every one of those dinners."
The truth about Saturday's win is that the Boilermakers reached this stage only because they ignored the chatter. But they heard it, so much so that multiple players on the team deleted their social media apps before the Big Ten tournament.
"We're not done," said Fletcher Loyer, who finished with 11 points. "We didn't even play that good. I think we have a lot more to prove. We have a good day of rest. We'll take advantage of it and be ready to go Monday."
This moment did not come, however, without a fight. The Boilermakers neutralized NCAA tournament hero DJ Burns Jr. (4-for-10). They harassed NC State into a 1-for-10 start in the second half. They also won by double digits, somehow, despite their 16 turnovers.
And now, they're here.
Five years ago, Virginia fully exorcized its demons from a first-round loss to UMBC by winning the national championship the following season. Purdue hopes to replicate that feat on Monday night.
"I don't think it has ever been put behind us," Gillis said. "We've always had open conversations about it. We've talked about how we felt losing [last year]. We talked about how we were going to grow from it. And then we acted on it. We didn't just talk. Obviously, last year we lost in the first game. Now, we're in the national championship."
A Purdue squad that had tasted the worst this NCAA tournament has to offer has not taken anything for granted. But the group has also learned to lean on itself.
The camaraderie from those team dinners and other activities, such as Mario Party competitions on the Nintendo Switch, has kept the mood light for a squad that knows what Monday represents.
A year ago, this crew felt the sting of a loss that only one other team in men's NCAA tournament history had endured. Yet, the Virginia Cavaliers buried those feelings a year later.
The Boilermakers know they can do the same on Monday night, which is why they did not believe they had a reason to celebrate on Saturday.
"I don't want to say we wouldn't be in this situation if we hadn't lost to [Fairleigh Dickinson]," Gillis said. "But it has definitely fueled us. Sitting in that loss, seeing it on social media 24/7, seeing it on TV, even throughout this year, everybody wants to say, 'Yeah they've done this, but they lost to FDU last year,' 'Yeah, they did this, but they lost to FDU last year.' So we're just proving everybody wrong, proving ourselves right, having each other's back. And we'll get the job done."
