DETROIT — After all the intense playing, it felt unfortunate that neither team nor their players were moving on to the Final Four.
Purdue is not expected to feel upset about the situation.
Zach Edey, a big player for Purdue, scored a career high of 40 points on Sunday, leading Purdue to a 72-66 win over Dalton Knecht and his determined Tennessee teammates, bringing Purdue two wins away from the title for the first time since 1980.
The 7-foot-4 Edey, chosen as an All-American by the AP, didn't even need a ladder to cut down the net after beating out Knecht, another All-American, who finished with 37 points.
The top two players of the game, and their teams, went back and forth all day. The game was very close with six ties and eight lead changes. With 5 minutes left and the score tied at 58, both players had scored 31 points on 12 field goals. According to OptaSTATS, this was the first time opposing players scored more than half of their team's points in an NCAA Tournament game.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said, “You’re not trying to take away 100 percent, you’re trying to take away maybe 80 percent of what he’s trying to get accomplished,” referring to Knecht. “But we don’t take Zach for granted. He could’ve scored 50 tonight if he’d made his free throws.”
Edey missed eight of his 22 attempts from the foul line. One of those misses led to a crucial play. After Tennessee got the rebound and moved the ball down the court, Edey blocked Knecht’s layup as he drove to the basket while trailing by five with 33 seconds left.
It was Edey’s only block of the day, and it ended the Vols’ desperate comeback hopes.
“I was just trying to get back, and make my presence felt on the defensive end of the court, and make up for it,” Edey said.
Top-seeded Purdue (33-4) overcame last year’s big disappointment — a first-round loss as a No. 1 seed — to secure the trip to Glendale, Arizona. On Saturday, Edey and the Boilermakers will face big man DJ Burns Jr. and 11th-seeded North Carolina State in the national semifinals.
“We had to take it,” Painter said of the criticism they faced last year. “Sometimes when you sit in it and you’re honest with yourself and you take it, some great things can happen.”
Tennessee (27-9), a No. 2 seed, was hoping for its first Final Four, and Vols coach Rick Barnes missed out on the second trip of his 38-year career to college basketball’s promised land.
The game was a tough battle, a nice change from the earlier games of this year's March Madness. It was played in front of a loud crowd packed with Purdue fans who traveled from Indiana.
They were eager for history, and they got it — along with the game ball that Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer threw about 20 rows into the crowd when the buzzer went off.
The school’s 87-year-old former coach, Gene Keady, watched from the stands — then, afterward, came onto the floor to receive a piece of the freshly cut net from Edey.
The former coach told The Associated Press that it demonstrates that hard work pays off.
At times, the game looked similar to the type of game Keady might have coached back in the ’80s and ’90s.
Purdue repeatedly passed the ball to Edey in the post, and although the aggressive UT defense made some progress — even blocking two of his shots — Tennessee accumulated a lot of fouls and Edey wore them down. He finished 13 of 21 from the floor.
Barnes didn't make a big deal out of Edey’s 22 free throws or the final foul count: Tennessee 25, Purdue 12.
“He’s a challenging player to guard, but he’s also a challenge for referees to officiate,” Barnes said. “It’s tough to officiate him because he plays in a unique manner.”
Meanwhile, the 3-point arc that didn't exist during Purdue’s last trip to the Final Four wasn't very influential for the Boilermakers. They only made three shots out of 15 attempts from long range.
However, it was a set of 3-point attempts that shifted the game. Knecht missed two open looks, first when his team was behind by three at the 3:09 mark, and then again on the next possession when they were down by six.
In the meantime, Lance Jones positioned himself at the corner for a 3-pointer that gave Purdue a 66-60 lead.
The decisive moment came as Tennessee tried to narrow a 69-64 deficit. Knecht drove down the lane and went up, but Edey, who played just a few seconds short of the full 40 minutes, moved over and cleanly swatted the shot.
“It was a great play, you have to give him credit,” Barnes said.
Knecht finished 14 of 31 from the floor. After making his first four 3-pointers, he went 2 for 8.
“I don’t think I put the team on my back,” Knecht said. “I think all of us carried each other. I think every single one of us did what we needed to do. Ultimately, they were simply the superior team.”
MORE RARE COMPANY
Edey is the first player with 40 or more points and at least 16 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount had 45 points and 18 rebounds in a 1990 game against New Mexico State.
ALL-MIDWEST REGION
Edey was named the most outstanding player in the Midwest. Joining him on the all-region team were Knecht, Braden Smith (Purdue), Baylor Scheierman (Creighton), and Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee).
