Toronto's Zach Edey leads Purdue over Gonzaga, into Elite Eight ...

30 Mar 2024

Sports·MEN'S MARCH MADNESS

Purdue big man Zach Edey withstood all the abuse Gonzaga could lay on him Friday night in Detroit, finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Boilermakers to an 80-68 victory and move them one win from the Final Four.

Zach Edey - Figure 1
Photo CBC.ca
11th-seeded NC State's dream run continues with win over No. 2 Marquette

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 29, 2024 9:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

Purdue centre Zach Edey, right, shoots over the defencee of Gonzaga forward Anton Watson (22) during an 80-68 win in a Sweet 16 college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Detroit. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo via The Canadian Press)

Purdue big man Zach Edey withstood all the abuse Gonzaga could lay on him Friday night in Detroit, finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Boilermakers to an 80-68 victory and move them one win from the Final Four.

Gonzaga leaned on, swatted and grabbed at the 7-foot-4 centre from Toronto — even slapped him across the forehead at one point — but it wasn't enough to stop either him or his top-seeded team.

On Sunday, Purdue, which last year became history's second first-round loser as a No. 1 seed, will play Tennessee, who beat Creighton 82-75.

Zach Edey - Figure 2
Photo CBC.ca

Braden Smith had 14 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for Purdue (32-4), came down to the other team's inability to hold down the nation's leading scorer.

WATCH l Canadian Zach Edey dominates March Madness with Purdue:

Canadian Zach Edey dominates NCAA March Madness
Canadian Zach Edey is putting up a dominating performance, leading Purdue into the final 'sweet 16' in the NCAA men's March Madness. While he's now a rising star, Edey attributes a lot of his success to the continued support of his family.

Ryan Nembhard of Aurora, Ont., had 14 points and seven assists for the Bulldogs.

Fifth-seeded Gonzaga (27-8) gave it a go for 30 minutes, but foul trouble and an ever-shrining basket ended its hopes.

Graham Ike had 18 points and 10 rebounds for coach Mark Few's Bulldogs, who shot only 38 per cent over the first 15 minutes of the second half and fell to 0-3 vs. Edey and the Boilermakers over the past two seasons. Like all the Gonzaga big men, Ike spent the evening in foul trouble; he got his fifth and trudged off the court for good with 5:07 left.

In other games on Friday, NC State (11) defeated Marquette (2), 67-58. NC State will move on to face Duke (4), who toppled top-ranked Houston 54-51.

With files from CBC Sports

Read more
Similar news