Purdue Knocks Out NC State; Advances to National Championship for the First Time Since 1969
Phoenix - It is nothing short of special how far the Wolfpack have made it this far. Winning nine straight elimination games in a row is a historic feat. Unfortunately, for the Wolfpack, the magic that has been harnessed over the last nine games ran out. The Boilermakers have advanced to the National Championship after losing to a double-digit seed the last three seasons.
From the opening tip, it was obvious that Zach Edey and D.J Burns were going to be the stars of the show. For NC State, the most important part of their game plan was to stay out of foul trouble. Mohamed Diarra and Burns both picked up their first foul within the first five minutes of the game, the worst-case scenario for the Wolfpack. Purdue was feeding Edey in the paint every possession, targeting Burns as he could not afford to pick up another foul.
After stealing the ball from Edey, Michael O'Connell picked up a very scary-looking injury after he hyperextended his leg during the fastbreak attempt. He later returned to the bench after going into the locker room for quite some time. Once the O’Connell stoppage occurred, there wasn’t another stoppage for almost seven minutes. This favored the Boilermakers as they like to run and get into transition, which allowed them to build a double-digit lead. It didn’t help that Burns picked up his second foul, so the Wolfpack looked to the guards to score from deep. DJ Horne stepped up big time, scoring 13 first-half points while the rest of his team combined for 16 points. At the end of the first half, even with eight team turnovers, Purdue led 35-29.
We learned from Tracy Wolfson, CBS sideline reporter, that O’Connell was unlikely to return to the game due to his injury suffered in the first half. Ben Middlebrooks was doing his best to defend Edey with the concerning foul trouble rising for the Wolfpack. Purdue was very sloppy in the opening stages of the second half, nearly going over five minutes without scoring a point. Lance Jones reignited the offensive firepower that the Boilermakers use to dominate their opponents. He was lighting it up from beyond the three-point line, shooting an efficient 44% from deep.
The DJ duo went on one final stretch to narrow the lead and pull off an unexpected comeback. Edey and company were simply just too dominant. With just under three minutes remaining, the Boilermakers had developed a twenty-point lead. Even with the poor offensive performance, the Boilermakers still shot 40% from three as a team. This has been a focal point all season for the Boilermakers, great shooting often leads to winning games. That would be all she wrote as Purdue will advance to the National Championship game on Monday, April 6th.
