March Madness: Purdue rides Zach Edey, hot 3-point shooting past NC State into national title game

Zach Edey didn't overwhelm NC State on Sunday. He didn't need to.

Purdue's shot makers made plays while its defense flustered a previously hot NC State attack in a 63-50 Final Four victory. Edey did plenty of damage along the way in a 20-point, 12-rebound effort.

The win secures a spot in Monday's national championship for Purdue while ending NC State's magical March run. The Wolfpack won nine straight ACC and NCAA tournament elimination games en route to its spot in the Final Four as an 11 seed. There, Purdue proved too tall of a task.

Edey wins big-man matchup with DJ Burns Jr.

In a matchup featuring two of the tournament's top big men, Edey got the best of NC State forward DJ Burns Jr. Edey controlled the post early en route to a 14-point first half that saw him repeatedly leverage his 7-foot-4 frame to score over the 6-9 Burns as Purdue opened up a 28-16 lead early.

NC State adjusted. Backup Ben Middlebrooks found success against Edey in the post as Wolfpack guards worked to deny him the ball. NC State kept Edey scoreless from the field for a 13-plus minute span that straddled the two halves.

Wolfpack guard DJ Horne, meanwhile, found his stroke from the field as NC State cut its deficit to 30-25 in the first half. But Purdue kept NC State at arm's length with one of the nation's best 3-point attacks. While Edey struggled early in the second half, Purdue extended its lead from long distance.

Purdue's 3-point shooting thrives again

Purdue's first three field goals of the second half landed from beyond the 3-point arc. Lance Jones' fourth 3-pointer of the game extended Purdue's lead to 45-33 as the Boilermakers opened the half on a 10-4 run.

Edey then worked his way back into the game on both ends of the floor. With 11:45 remaining, he rejected a Casey Morsell offering at the baseline and then ran back on offense to get post position on Burns.

There, Burns leveraged his 275-pound frame to hold his ground. But he had no answer for Edey's towering height. Edey lofted a hook shot over Burns and into the basket to extend Purdue's lead to 47-35.

It was the fifth time Edey looked to a hook shot over his shorter defender. Four times, the shot went in. The other drew a foul from Burns and put Edey on the line.

The game wasn't quite over at that point. Horne's shotmaking continued to keep NC State in striking distance as the Wolfpack cut their deficit to 49-42 with 8:04 remaining. But that was as close as they would get down the stretch.

NC State overwhelmed at the end

Purdue's inside-out attack eventually wore NC State down as Purdue opened its lead back up to double digits under the 7-minute mark and kept its foot on the gas through the final buzzer.

Purdue shot 10 of 25 from 3-point distance (40%), keeping pace with a 40.6% success rate on the season that ranked as the second-best in the nation. Jones did the bulk of of the work on a 4-of-9 effort from 3-point distance en route to 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Fletcher Loyer was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in an 11-point, four-rebound effort. Mason Gillis hit 2 of 5 3-pointers off the bench in an eight-point effort.

Purdue thrived despited an uncharacteristically sloppy effort from point guard Braden Smith, who tallied just three points on a 1-of-9 effort from the field. He made his impact elsewhere with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. But he turned the ball over five times, including a pair of over-and-back violations.

Edey passes David Robinson

Edey, as usual, was the star of the show despite some stiff challenges from NC State's defense. He shot 9 of 14 from the field en route to his 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The effort marked his sixth straight NCAA tournament game with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, breaking a tie with David Robinson for the most such games in the last 50 years of tournament play.

Edey forced Burns into foul trouble and limited the NC State star to eight points, four assists and a single rebound in 27 minutes. Previously, Burns had repeatedly used his size, mobility and playmaking to get the best of opposing big men, including North Carolina's Armando Bacot and Duke's Kyle Filipowski during NC State's run through the ACC and NCAA tournaments. On Saturday, Edey proved a problem that he could not solve.

While Burns struggled, Horne picked up the slack in a 20-point, six-assist effort to lead the Wolfpack. But he shot 8 of 21 from the field to reach his tally in an effort that was indicative of NC State's offense on the day. NC State shot 36.8% from the field and countered Purdue's hot 3-point shooting with a 5-of-19 (26.3%) effort from long distance.

Purdue will play UConn Monday for the national championship after the Huskies defeated Alabama in the other semifinal. The title-game appearance is Purdue's second and its first since 1969. The Boilermakers will seek their first national championship. The Huskies will seek their sixth.