Edey, Purdue roll into title game
Purdue kept its March Madness dream alive while snuffing out North Carolina State’s, getting 20 points and 12 rebounds from Zach Edey in a 63-50 triumph Saturday in the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, that put the top-seeded Boilermakers a victory away from their first NCAA championship.
The Wolfpack poked and jabbed at the 7-4 Edey and gave him fits during his 40 minutes on the court, but he still dominated the battle of big men against 6-9, 275-pound DJ Burns Jr., who labored to eight points and four assists. DJ Horne led 11th-seeded N.C. State with 20 points.
Purdue (34-4) moved on to the final Monday against top-seeded and defending champion UConn, which defeated fourth-seeded Alabama 86-72. The Wolfpack (26-15) ended their season two victories shy of a repeat of 1983, when they came through in nine consecutive must-win games to capture one of the most unlikely NCAA titles in history.
Some might call this run by the Boilermakers unlikely, too. The program is in the Final Four for the first time since 1980, only one season after becoming the second top seed to fall in the first round.
‘‘It’s the one we’ve been talking about all year,’’ said Edey, who came back for his senior season after the disappointment of last year. ‘‘It’s the one we’ve been talking about for four years now, to be able to play in that, accept that challenge.’’
Edey and his teammates have swatted away every challenge thus far. They did it this time despite a three-point night from secondleading scorer Braden Smith, who shot 1-for-9 but contributed eight rebounds and six assists.
‘‘I like to hold myself to the standard of being perfect,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Coach [Matt] Painter always gets on me for that, saying that I’m impacting the game in so many ways other than scoring. They didn’t take me out. That just shows me — and everybody else — the confidence they have in me.’’
Smith wasn’t the only one who couldn’t buy a bucket. N.C. State, which outscored Duke 55-37 after halftime in the Elite Eight, shot 28.6% in the second half this time — a cold spell that included open looks galore that wouldn’t fall.
It made for some ugly hoops. During one stretch early in the second half, the teams missed 10 consecutive shots between them.
‘‘Obviously, it was one of those grinder games,’’ Painter said.
UConn eyes back-to-back titles
Top-seeded UConn kept its bid to repeat as national champion intact by surviving its first true test of the NCAA Tournament, getting 21 points from Stephon Castle and clamping down defensively in the second half of an 86-72 victory against fourth-seeded Alabama.
The Huskies (36-3) had put on a March Madness show before arriving in the desert, a stretch that included a 30-0 run in a decimation of Illinois in the Elite Eight last weekend in Boston.
This was more of a slow burn, with UConn withstanding an early wave of three-pointers before holding the Crimson Tide (25-12) without a field goal during a five-minute stretch of the second half.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Huskies, who on Monday against Purdue will try to become the first men’s team to repeat as NCAA champion since Florida accomplished the feat in 2006-07. In addition to Castle, Donovan Clingan scored 18 points, Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer 14 each and Tristen Newton 12.
‘‘I think it’s just great for college basketball, UConn coach Dan Hurley said. ‘‘Us and Purdue have clearly been the two best teams in the country the last two years. I think it’s just great for college basketball to get the two big dogs playing on Monday.’’
Mark Sears scored 24 points to lead Alabama, which also got 19 points from Grant Nelson and 13 from Aaron Estrada.