Midway through the first half of Purdue's eventual 63-50 win over NC State in the Final Four on Saturday, Wolfpack big man DJ Burns Jr. gritted his teeth and braced for impact.
Although he is 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, Burns had to look up every time Zach Edey -- the 7-foot-4, 290-pound reigning Wooden Award winner -- touched the ball. As Edey scored on a skyhook, Burns shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
Burns, the star of an NC State team that had won nine in a row after a 2-7 stretch in its last nine regular-season games, knew it would be a long night.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter has been the leader of Purdue's redemption tour a year after the team suffered a loss to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But Edey is its star.
While Edey (20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers) slowed down in the second half, the energy NC State expended as it attempted to corral him drained the Wolfpack, which started 1-for-10 from the field after halftime.
Wolfpack forward Mohamed Diarra, all 215 pounds of him, bounced off Edey a few times. Burns leaned on him throughout the game and tried to avoid fouls. Ben Middlebrooks, a 6-foot-10 center, was NC State's best defender against Edey, but midway through the second half, Middlebrooks had his hands on his knees during a timeout as sweat poured from his brow.
Taking advantage of the Wolfpack's fatigue, Purdue's Lance Jones finished with 14 points (4-for-9 on 3-pointers) and Fletcher Loyer added 11 points (3-for-5 beyond the arc), as NC State realized it couldn't guard Edey and address the four other players on the court at the same time.
"I think, obviously, he's our pillar, the guy we work around in what we do," Painter said of Edey on Friday. "But it's not something from an attention-seeking [standpoint] that I think he likes. He's gotten more comfortable answering questions and getting that kind of attention. At the end of the day, he just wants it to be a team game. He wants the attention to go to everybody. He does a great job of facilitating that, being humble. That's refreshing. Who doesn't want to play with a great player but also a great player that's unselfish and humble like he is?"
Purdue, which will play in its first national-championship matchup since 1969, can now focus on Monday night's title game. The Boilermakers will have a chance to win the first national championship in school history and complete a full turnaround -- perhaps mimicking Virginia, which won a trophy in 2019 a year after its first-round loss to 16-seed UMBC.
But Edey's presence has carved the path to this moment.
Against NC State, he had 14 points in the first half and finished 6-for-9 from the field. The big man's efforts dictated the tone of the game. With every touch, NC State braced and often sent help, which created more room for Edey's teammates. With seven minutes to play, the No. 2 team in 3-point shooting in America had made 38% of its shots from beyond the arc.
But Purdue had its challenges. It committed eight turnovers in the first half alone -- Braden Smith had five and Edey had three -- and the sloppiness continued in the second half. Smith (3 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 turnovers) threatened to make NCAA tournament history as the first player since 1984 to finish with at least 10 assists and 10 rebounds but zero points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, until he hit a late 3-pointer.
While the Boilermakers shot 3-pointers at a solid clip, the team had made just 40% of its field goal attempts with five minutes to play in the contest.
The one constant -- not just Saturday, but all season -- has been Edey. He has now joined a unique group as the fifth player to average at least 25 points and 15 rebounds through five NCAA tournament games. That list includes such legends as Elvin Hayes and Elgin Baylor.
From the front row, another legend watched as Edey led his team to the final game of the season.
Shaquille O'Neal nodded his head when he was asked if liked Edey's repertoire.
"He has a nice touch around the basket," said O'Neal, the Basketball Hall of Fame center and TV commentator who watched Edey's effort from the front row at the State Farm Stadium. "He uses his body well. He's playing very well, and he's staying out of foul trouble."
