Purdue’s Zach Edey Almost Outrebounded Grambling State By Himself in Historic Performance

The All-American center dominated in the Boilermakers' first win of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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Zach Edey once again proved that he is the most unstoppable player in college basketball as Purdue dominated Grambling State, 78–50, on Friday night. Edey scored 30 points and grabbed 21 rebounds as the top-seeded Boilermakers avenged last year’s historic First Round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, setting up a meeting Sunday with No. 8 seed Utah State. Sophomore guard Braden Smith added 11 points and 10 assists while sophomore forward Trey Kaufman-Renn chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.

Edey became the first player to score at least 30 points and collect 20 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Joe Smith, who scored 31 points with 21 rebounds for Maryland in 1995 against Texas. It was the 19th recorded 30-20 game in tournament history, per NCAA director of media coordination David Worlock.

The Purdue big man went 11-for-17 from the field and came close to out-rebounding the entire Grambling side (23) despite spending the final several minutes on the bench.

“You say it’s a big stage, but at the end of the day it’s still basketball,” Edey said after the game. “We’re good. People saw that. We just did what we were supposed to do and we’re onto the next game now.”

Edey, the reigning Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year, is among the 10 semifinalists again this year and a clear favorite to repeat.

Purdue moves to 30-4 on the year. Despite a second consecutive Big Ten regular season crown the Boilermakers will be judged solely on what they do in the NCAA Tournament. Through 40 minutes, they appear ready to do damage. 

Kyle Koster is an editor at The Big Lead.