Zach Edey, Purdue Boilermakers head to NCAA title game with 63-50 win over N.C. State in Glendale

That is, Purdue beat North Carolina State 63-50 in the first of two NCAA semifinal games at State Farm Stadium by not relying entirely on center Zach Edey but instead by getting plenty of perimeter punch to supplement his oft-dominant play inside.

"We've got the best player in the country. That's a hell of a place to start," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "But you’ve got to have the right pieces with him."

Edey finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, slightly below his season averages, just as he did in Purdue's 92-84 win over Arizona on Dec. 16 in Indianapolis. Guard Lance Jones added 14 points while hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers and Fletcher Loyer added 11 points while making 3 of 5 3s.

The win moved Purdue to 34-4 and into the national championship game at 6:20 p.m. Monday against the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal game between UConn and Alabama.

It also ended N.C. State’s run of nine straight wins in elimination games during the ACC and NCAA tournaments, since the Wolfpack (26-15) would not have earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid if it didn’t win its conference’s tournament.

“I don't know that I could be more prouder of a group of men that I’ve ever coached in my life," N.C. State Kevin Keatts said. "Just so proud of what they brought the university and our basketball program...

"Look back at what this team accomplished. These guys always believed. They trusted. They stuck together and they shut out all the outside noise."

But on Saturday, even if the Wolfpack was able to shut out the heavy Purdue representation in the crowd of over 70,000 at State Farm Stadium, N.C. State couldn’t shut down Edey and those around him enough.

In a game when N.C. State never led but often pulled within a possession or two, the Boilermakers always had an answer. If it wasn't hooks and outbacks from Edey, it was 3s from Loyer or 3s and drives to the basket from Jones, the transfer from Southern Illinois.

“It was one of those grinder-type games where we made a few more shots, a few more 3s,” Painter said. “Obviously, we wanted to keep establishing Zach inside … then being able to attack or take the 3s that we were given.

“We made enough of those.”

Jones, Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn each had six points in the first half when Purdue went up by as many as 12 points. Purdue led 35-29 at halftime but both teams shot under 30% from the field in the first 12 minutes after halftime, keeping Purdue from taking control early in the second half.

Then, the Boilermakers put the game away with a 14-1 run late in the second half that gave them a 63-43 lead with 2:52 to go.

Purdue’s game-changing run began after former ASU guard DJ Horne of N.C. State pulled up for a jumper with eight minutes left to cut Purdue’s lead to just 49-42. Loyer hit two free throws, then Jones drove inside for a floater to give Purdue a 53-42 lead with 6:47 left and an ensuing hook from Edey put the Boilermakers up by 13.

Loyer and Braden Smith then hit 3-pointers to put the game out of contention.

Purdue wound up shooting just 40% from the field but also shot exactly that from 3 (10 for 25), while holding N.C. State to just 38.6% shooting and outrebounding the Wolfpack 41-28.

While Edey finished just below his season averages of 25.0 points and 12.5 rebounds, he also did so in Purdue’s 92-84 win over Arizona on Dec. 15 in Indianapolis. Edey had 22 points and nine rebounds in that game, while Loyer and Smith combined for nine 3-pointers and 53 points against the Wildcats.

“We’ve just done too much to not shoot it with confidence,” Loyer said. “We’ve played basketball for so many years, and now we’re on the stage that we’ve worked for. There’s no reason for us to go out there not confident or not trusting in one another to go make a play.”

There were some differences between Purdue’s wins over Arizona and N.C. State, however. For one thing, Saturday’s game was more of a defensive slugfest overall than the Dec. 16 showdown, while Jones joined Loyer as a perimeter hero against N.C. State instead of Smith, who was 9-of-15 from the field against the Wildcats but had just three points while shooting 1 for 9 from the field on Saturday.

Still, Smith had eight rebounds and six assists.

“It’s really nice when you have awesome teammates and coaches,” Smith said. “They just told me to keep the confidence up… that `you’ll impact the game in a different way when shots aren’t falling.’ Rebounding can impact the game.”

Purdue wound up outrebounding N.C. State 41-28, scoring 19 second-chance points off its 11 offensive rebounds, allowing the Boilermakers to win by double-digits in a game when it barely outshot N.C. State’s 36.8% mark from the field.

With Edey dominating inside and his perimeter teammates hitting 3-pointers at times in the first half, the Boilermakers built leads of up to 12 points before halftime.

N.C. State went on a 7-2 run late in the first half to cut Purdue’s lead to just three points before Loyer hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with nine seconds left, and the Wolfpack failed to score on their final possession before halftime.

Former ASU guard DJ Horne of N.C. State shot 6-for-11 in the first half to help keep N.C. State within six at halftime, but was just 2 of 10 in the second half. He wound up leading the Wolfpack in scoring with 20 points while collecting seven rebounds. Celebrated Wolfpack big man DJ Burns had just eight points and four rebounds for N.C. State.

Horne was 8 for 21 overall but made only 2 of 8 3-pointers.

"It was just one of those days," Horne said.

But it wasn’t, at least in the big picture. Not only did N.C. State leave the stage after a surprise run to its first Final Four appearance in more than four decades, but Horne also capped his career with a successful ride back to the Phoenix area.

“Always feels good to know I was back in Arizona,” Horne said. “Felt a little bit of love and everything from the fans. It’s pretty cool.”