NCAA Tournament Check-In: Purdue’s Zach Edey

The Boilermakers outright dominated the Utah State Aggies on Sunday, advancing Edey and co. to the Sweet 16.

Utah State v Purdue / Andy Lyons/GettyImages

Two games down, a +67 point differential and two Zach Edey double-doubles, the Purdue Boilermakers are hyper focused at this point into the NCAA Tournament. 

With a monstrous 106-67 victory over Utah State on Sunday afternoon, Purdue has now advanced to the Sweet 16 for the program’s fifth time in seven seasons. This comes three days after their 28-point first-round defeat of the Grambling Tigers. Ending the year with a 29-4 record and receiving its second consecutive first-seed placement, the Boilermakers are next slated to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Edey’s two outings in the tournament has amassed him 53 points – 23 versus the Aggies and 30 against the Tigers – while also generating 35 boards and six blocks.

His upcoming contest versus Gonzaga will mark the eighth tournament game of his career, with the only other time Purdue reaching the Sweet 16 coming in his sophomore season. That Sweet 16 game was troublesome for the Boilermakers and its 7-foot-4 big man, as Edey's impact was minimal having 11 points, two rebounds and five turnovers in 17 minutes in a loss versus 15th-seeded St. Peters.

Leading into the next season, a majorly disappointing first-round upset occurred between Farleigh Dickinson and Purdue, as it marked just the second time in NCAA history of a No. 16 seed defeating a No. 1 seed. Edey put up a similar stat line in this game as he has in this year's tournament thus far, generating 21 points, 15 boards and three blocks, but it wasn't enough to overcome a five-point upset.

Lobbying for the school's first Elite Eight appearance since the turn of the century, Edey and head coach Matt Painter will look to break their limits of not being able to reach past the Sweet 16 on Friday.

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