Purdue beat the North Carolina State 63-50 Saturday at the Final Four, breaking open the game with a surge midway through the second half.
No. 1 seed Purdue will play fellow No. 1 seed Connecticut for the national title Monday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The only other appearance in the championship game for the Boilermakers came in 1969, when they lost to UCLA.
Zach Edey, Purdue’s 7-4 center who is the two-time national player of the year, had 20 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the first player in tournament history to record six consecutive games of 20 point and 10 rebounds.
‘It’s all we’ve been talking about for the whole year,’ Edey said about reaching the title game. ‘It’s what we’ve been talking about for four years now. Just to be able to play and accept that challenge. Whoever comes out of this next game is going to be a great team. But we’re going to lock in our game plan and execute.’
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Lance Jones had 14 points with four important 3-pointers, and Fletcher Lawyer had 11 points for the Boilermakers, who last year were just the second team to lose as a No. 1 seed to a No. 16 seed in the first round. Now they’re one win from a national title.
‘It feels great,’ Purdue coach Matt Painter said. ‘That’s what (Zach) always talked about. He didn’t come back to win a couple games in the tournament. He came back to compete for a national championship but you’ve got to put yourself in position first. Obviously, we’re here now.’
DJ Horne led NC State with 20 points and DJ Burns, the Wolfpack’s dynamic center, was held to 8 points after some early foul trouble. NC State struggled from the field, hitting 36.8% from the field and just 26.3% from the 3-point line.
NC State (26-15) was making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1983, when the Wolfpack upset Houston on Lorenzo Charles’ dunk in the final seconds.
The Wolfpack had won nine consecutive games before Saturday.
On Saturday, Purdue led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but NC State fought back and pulled within three points before the teams entered halftime with Purdue leading, 35-29.
In the first half, Edney had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. But he also had three turnovers, and collectively the Boilermakers had eight turnovers – one reason their lead shrunk.
Horne led the Wolfpack at the break with 13 points. Burns played only 12 minutes in the first half, in part because he’d picked up two fouls. He managed only four points but also had four assists.
NC State point guard Michael O’Connell, who leads the team in assists with an average of 3.2 per game, suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and played only nine minutes.
Purdue’s capitalized on its size advantage with a 21-12 edge in rebounding.
In the second half, Purdue led by as many as 13 points and by no fewer than six.