Zach Edey meets Shaq in tunnel following Final Four win over NC State

Purdue big man Zach Edey is moving onto the 2024 National Championship. He’s carried the Boilermakers on his back for much of the past few seasons. While he didn’t have his greatest game on Saturday night, he still stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. The 7-foot-4 center managed to guide his team to a comfortable 63-50 win over N.C. State. Following the win, he got to meet one of the greatest big men of all-time, Shaquille O’Neal.

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"Great to finally meet you, man. It's an honor."@zach_edey and @SHAQ met after @boilerball's Final Four win. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qq91hsfeTW

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) April 7, 2024

Edey has firmly cemented his place as one of the best college basketball players of all-time, so it’s a special moment to get to see two of the game’s greats come together. Even if it was just for a brief moment.

Purdue led for most of the contest on Saturday night, leading by six at halftime. But they really didn’t have to stress much at all in the final minutes of the game. The Boilermakers went on a run when it counted the most.

Both teams had trouble scoring a bucket during a certain stretch. Early in the second half, both teams missed 10 straight shots between them. N.C. State did an excellent job defensively on Zach Edey for most of the game, but they couldn’t stop him from getting a double-double.

Purdue got some excellent contributions from Fletcher Loyer and Lance Jones. They poured in a combined 25 points, including hitting seven of 14 threes. Those points were massive in keeping the Wolfpack defense honest.

NC State was only five of 19 from beyond-the-arc, connecting on just 26.3% of their attempts. Big man DJ Burns only had eight points and four rebounds. He got in foul trouble (three fouls) and also looked tired at a number of points throughout the game. It was a tough matchup and Edey clearly won the battle. There’s a reason he’s been tabbed as the AP National Player of the Year in back-to-back years. Edey became the first player to accomplish the feat in 40 years.

Up next, the Boilermakers will wait the winner of Saturday night’s Alabama/UConn matchup. That game is currently at halftime and is being nationally televised on TBS.