Zach Attack: 7-4 Edey propels Purdue into Elite Eight before 'home' crowd at LCA
Tony Paul
Detroit — The Zach Attack has booked another date at LCA.
Big man Zach Edey had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Braden Smith had 14 points and 15 assists as No. 1 seed Purdue surged past No. 5 Gonzaga, 80-68, behind a dominant second half before a decidedly pro-Boilermakers crowd Friday night in NCAA Tournament action at Little Caesars Arena.
With the win, Purdue (32-4) has earned a second trip to the Elite Eight in the past five seasons. Before that, the Boilermakers hadn't made it that far since 2000.
The Boilermakers are trying to avenge last year's stunning loss as a No. 1 seed to a No. 16 in the first round, just as Virginia did in winning the national championship in 2019, a year after it fell as a 1 to a 16.
"We've had disappointment," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "And I think any time you have that, you appreciate things a little bit more, and your attention to detail is a little bit better."
Purdue will play Tennessee in the Midwest Regional championship game at 2:20 Sunday, for a bid to the Final Four. The Boilermakers, who opened as a 3.5-point favorite early Saturday morning, haven't played in a Final Four since 1980, nine years before Painter first suited up for Purdue, and the Volunteers have never played in a Final Four.
The Boilermakers have not won a national championship in the NCAA Tournament era.
Purdue led, 40-36, at halftime, then came out swinging a sledge hammer early in the second half, offensively and defensively. Sophomore guard Fletcher Loyer, who grew up in Clarkston, drained a 3 with 16 minutes, 27 seconds left. That made it Purdue, 51-42, for its largest lead at the time, and Loyer turned to the crowd and pursed his lips.
BOX SCORE: Purdue 80, Gonzaga 68
Gonzaga went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to three, exciting a little sliver of the LCA seats set aside for Gonzaga.
But Purdue punched right back, with hook shots from Edey and two buckets from Smith, a sophomore guard, to make it 61-53 with 9:49 remaining. At the timeout, Loyer went right to the sidelines and started waving his arms, as the large Purdue crowd, having a good time in the heart of Big Ten country, took to its feet, while Gonzaga (27-8) players slumped back to their bench.
"We have an unbelievable fan base," said Smith, who when he wasn't scoring, was feeding Edey. He had the 15 assists to just two turnovers. "Paint talks about it a lot. Give them something to cheer for.
"When you do that, it makes everything so much easier."
Purdue never lost at home this season, and it felt right at home Friday, especially late.
Out of the timeout, Purdue got a stop and an Edey rebound, and Smith fed Edey for a dunk to make it 64-53. After another defensive stop, Purdue redshirt freshman guard Cameron Heide drained a 3 to make it 67-53. LCA's crowd was popping, and Gonzaga called another timeout.
Another Edey hook shot capped a 16-2 game-changing run, and made it 69-53, before Gonzaga made back-to-back baskets to snap a scoring drought of more than 3 minutes.
In one seemingly last gasp with just under 5 minutes left, Gonzaga got three straight cracks at open 3's, and missed them all. It was 6-or-19 on 3's, while Purdue was 9-for-20.
"Our defense was much better in the second half," Painter said. "I thought they got a little bit tired, also."
Gonzaga got a little bit frustrated, too, and it showed.
During that pivotal Purdue run, Gonzaga also got into foul trouble, as so many teams do going up against Purdue and Edey — who didn't pick up his first defensive foul until there was less than 3 minutes left, and the game was securely in hand. Redshirt junior forward Graham Ike fouled out with more than 5 minutes left, and scoring 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Graduate-student guard Anton Watson fouled out with under 2 minutes left, scoring 14.
Junior guard Nolan Hickman scored 16 for Gonzaga, and junior guard Ryan Nembhard scored 14 with seven assists.
Loyer added 12 points and Jones 10 for Purdue, which got 36 points from the starting guards on 15-for-28 shooting, to go with Edey's 27 on 10-for-15. Purdue shot 57% for the game.
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"When those guards shoot it like that, it's pick your poison," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. "Then Edey is just a load. It's a nice entity to have, just pitch it to him.
"If you play him one-on-one, he's either going to get fouled or score."
Edey, the 7-foot-4, 300-pounder from Toronto, took plenty of licks from Gonzaga, including a swipe to the head late in the first half from junior forward Ben Gregg.
"Yeah," Edey said, laughing, "it didn't feel good."
But still playing, that feels really good for Purdue and Edey, who had his third double-double in three NCAA Tournament games this season, and his sixth consecutive double-double overall. Paint points were even at 14 in the first half, but Purdue absolutely took over inside in the second half, winning that battle, 42-26. Edey scored 16 of his 27 in the second half, when Purdue shot better than 60%.
Smith added eight rebounds for Purdue, which won that rebounding battle as well, 32-25.
"Braden is the head of the snake," Jones said. "I tell him all the time, we go as he goes."
Purdue beat Gonzaga (27-8) in the regular season, too, in November in Maui, 73-63.
Gonzaga, playing more 2,000 miles from home to Purdue's 300 or so and it surely showed with the crowd-support breakdown in the sold-out arena, was playing in its ninth consecutive Sweet 16 under Few. But the Bulldogs fell short of its second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.
@tonypaul1984