Zach Edey and Purdue Aren't Messing Around

Zach Edey and his Purdue teammates are not leaving anything to chance. In the first two rounds of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Boilermakers have blown the doors off two overmatched opponents as they attempt to erase memories of last year's upset loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. After thrashing Utah State on Sunday, Purdue is back in the Sweet 16.

Edey and Co. opened the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, and hammered out a 78-50 win over Grambling. The All-American center was unstoppable in that contest, scoring 30 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. Purdue led 31-27 with 3:40 remaining in the half and decided to turn it on. The Boilermakers outscored the Tigers by 24 points the rest of the way.

On Sunday, Purdue was in an early dogfight with No. 8 seed Utah State, who actually led 23-21 with 9:23 remaining in the first half. Then a switch flipped. The Boilermakers outscored the Aggies 85-44 the rest of the way, finishing with a 106-67 victory. By his standards, Edey had a ho-hum line of 23 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 27 minutes. With their star carrying less of the scoring load, the rest of the team chipped in, as five other players finished with nine points or more, and they hit 11 of 23 shots from beyond the arc.

Escaping the first weekend of the tournament and avoiding a major upset may not seem like a big achievement for a No. 1 seed, but considering Purdue's recent history, it is. Last season as a No. 1 seed, The Boilers fell to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. In 2022 as the No. 3 seed in the East Region, they were upset by No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16. In 2021 they were bounced from the First Round by No. 13 seed North Texas.

Things have been rocky in the tournament for Matt Painter's squad and, in reality, nothing Purdue did during the regular season would have mattered if it had flopped in March again. So far, the team has avoided that fate, and will now move on to face No. 5 seed Gonzaga in Detroit on Friday.

Edey and his teammates made sure the first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament was relatively drama-free. They hammered two outmatched opponents, proving they are not here to play around.

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer at The Big Lead.