Purdue powers its way past N.C. State 63-50 into NCAA title game

Sun, Apr 7, 2024
NCAAB News (AP)

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Purdue kept its March Madness dream alive while snuffing out North Carolina State's, getting 20 points and 12 rebounds from Zach Edey in a 63-50 victory Saturday that placed the Boilermakers a win from their first NCAA title.

N.C. State poked and jabbed at the 7-foot-4 Edey and gave him fits over his 40 minutes on the floor, but he still dominated the battle of big men against 6-9, 275-pound Wolfpack forward DJ Burns Jr., who labored to eight points and four assists. DJ Horne led the 11th-seeded Wolfpack with 20 points.

Purdue (34-4) moves on to Monday night's final to play the winner of the later game between Alabama and defending champion UConn. N.C. State (26-15) ended its season two victories shy of a repeat of 1983, when it came through in nine straight must-win games to capture one of history's most unlikely titles.

Some might call this run by top-seeded Purdue unlikely, too. The program is in the Final Four for the first time since 1980, only one season after becoming the second top seed to fall in the first round.

UCONN 86, ALABAMA 72

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - UConn kept its bid to repeat as national champion intact by surviving its first true test of the NCAA Tournament, getting 21 points from freshman Stephon Castle while clamping down defensively in the second half of a win over Alabama in the Final Four.

UConn's bid for repeat title has reached its final challenge: Purdue and star Zach Edey

Alabama falls to the UConn machine in the Final Four, but the Tide certainly made it fun for a while

Led by Castle and Clingan, defending champ UConn returns to NCAA title game, beating Alabama 86-72

The top-seeded Huskies (36-3) had put on a March Madness show before arriving in the desert, a stretch that included a 30-0 run in a decimation of Illinois in the Elite Eight.

This was more of a slow burn, with UConn withstanding an early wave of 3-pointers before holding the Crimson Tide (25-12) without a field goal during a five-minute second-half stretch.

Next up for the Huskies will be what should be a much more physical test against 7-foot-4, 300-pound Zach Edey and Purdue in Monday's national championship game. UConn has its own accomplished big man in 7-2 Donovan Clingan, who finished with 18 points and four blocked shots.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness