Purdue outlasts Tennessee behind magnificent performance from Zach Edey

Tennessee took an early lead on Purdue in the Elite Eight on Saturday, but the size and physicality of superstar Zach Edey slowly wore down the Volunteers until the Boilermakers were able to surge ahead and secure a 72-66 win.

The Volunteers built a lead as big as 11 points in the first half, but the Boilermakers battled back and took the lead in the second half, then held on against a late surge from Tennessee.

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Edey was the linchpin, scoring 40 points and pulling down 16 rebounds to completely set the tone.

It was enough to push Purdue past a Tennessee team that had trouble finding other scorers outside of first-team All-American Dalton Knecht. Knecht scored 37 points, but nobody else really emerged to complement him in the game.

No other Tennessee player scored in double figures in the game.

As a result, even a run by Tennessee that pulled the game dead even midway through the second half wasn’t enough to get the Volunteers all the way back into the game.

Purdue coach Matt Painter spoke to the job his team was doing on Knecht in the first half, even though he was scoring almost at will. Eventually, Purdue seemed to wear him down over time.

“Well, he got away from us on one of them, like a long rebound and went away and that happens sometimes,” Painter told sideline reporter Evan Washburn. “The other time we just didn’t take up his space and he made a tough pull-up right there. Very difficult. You got to limit his touches, you got to push him out a little but further, but that’s easier said than done.”

Knecht got his, but Purdue had more answers as a team, even after the Volunteers tied the game up at 56 with about seven minutes left to play.

The Boilermakers dumped it down to Edey on the block on the next two possessions and he converted the second opportunity to pull Purdue back in front. He went to the free-throw line as well, helping break the deadlock in the waning moments.

And Tennessee’s focus on Edey in the post cost it, with guard Lance Jones drilling a vital 3-pointer to extend the lead to 66-60 with about two and a half minutes remaining.

With the win, Tennessee advances to the Final Four to take on the winner of tonight’s game between Duke and NC State. Duke is a the 4-seed in the South Region, while NC State is the 11-seed.