GLENDALE, Ariz. — Purdue ended the Cinderella-run of the North Carolina State Wolfpack with a 63-50 win on Saturday night and now the Boilermakers are one win away from their first NCAA basketball title.
The game was highlighted by the much-anticipated battle of both squads' big men, Purdue's 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and NC State's 6-9, 275-pound DJ Burns Jr.
And while the Wolfpack frustrated Edey for most of the game, the Boilermaker center still finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Burns finished with just eight points and four assists.
Purdue (34-4), who is making their first Final Four appearance since 1980, will now wait to play either Alabama or defending champion UConn on Monday night.
NC State (26-15) ended its season just two wins shy of repeating the 1983 national championship run, when they won nine straight must-win game to win one of basketball histories most unlikely titles.
“It’s the one we’ve been talking about all year,” said Edey, who came back for his senior season after last year's disappointment. “It’s the one we’ve been talking about for four years now, to be able to play in that, accept that challenge.”
DJ Horne led the 11th-seeded Wolfpack with 20 points.
Purdue's second-best scorer, Braden Smith, had trouble getting the ball through the cylinder. He finished with just three points on one-of-nine shooting, but came through with the final dagger to end NC State's run.
His score came at the end of a stretch during which DJ Horne shot an airball and Edey swatted N.C. State guard Jayden Taylor’s shot out of the paint. Then on the other end, Fletcher Loyer and then Smith buried back-to-back 3s.
It highlighted an 8-0 run that pushed Purdue’s lead out to 20. The only drama left was whether the Wolfpack would surpass their season low in scoring of 52 points.
They did not.
NC State struggled from the field in the second half, shooting 28.6% — a cold spell that included plenty of open looks that simply never fell.
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