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'He's a human cheat code': Ohio State knows it takes team effort to defend Purdue's Zach Edey

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•01/05/23•

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Purdue center Zach Edey leads the Big Ten in scoring with 21.7 points per game this season. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Purdue center Zach Edey leads the Big Ten in scoring (21.7 points per game) and rebounding (13.4 rebounds per game). The 7-foot-4 star entered the week ninth and second, respectively, among all Division I players in those categories.

The No. 1 Boilermakers (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten), coming off their first loss of the season Monday against Rutgers, have played 14 games, and Edey has 12 double-doubles. Only St. John’s center Joel Soriano has more this season.

“He’s a human cheat code,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said of Edey Wednesday.

“He’s the most dominant player in college basketball. We know that.”

Holtmann emphasized that, although it takes a team effort to slow down Edey, Zed Key in particular will shoulder great responsibility in The Schottenstein Center during Thursday night’s matchup between Purdue and the No. 24 Buckeyes (10-3, 2-0).

“I think this is an opportunity for Zed to really grow in his ability to defend a dominant post player,” Holtmann said.

Key stands 6-foot-8, 255 pounds. In almost every game Ohio State plays, Key has a size disadvantage down low. That usually doesn’t matter, though. The junior big man is so good at positioning his body in the paint that he finds ways to both score and protect the rim against larger bodies.

There’s a reason why Key has five double-doubles this year and is averaging 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Against Edey, however, replicating that success will be a tall task. Quite literally.

“The thing with Zach is he’s 7-foot-4 plus, and they said he grew an inch, which is encouraging,” Holtmann said with subtle humor. “The fact is, he’s just so massive in terms of how much he weighs. He’s probably 290, close to 300 pounds. It’s not just the length and the size.

“Sometimes a leverage play is as important as anything, and that’s where Zed’s really good because he’s really strong. Here, you don’t really have a leverage play against a guy that size.”

The last high-profile center Key had to guard was North Carolina’s Armando Bacot (6-foot-11) in the CBS Sports Classic. Holtmann said Wednesday that Key let some of his early offensive misses in that game — seven of his 11 points came in the second half — affect his defense.

Ohio State center Zed Key defends UNC’s Armando Bacot during the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 17. Key routinely finds himself guarding taller centers down low. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Holtmann said it’s a “maturity thing” for Key to be locked in at either end of the floor, regardless of how involved he is scoring, and that he’s continuing to grow in that regard.

Key has played Purdue four times in his Buckeyes career. He has yet to score more than five points in a game against the Boilermakers. That said, he’s averaged just 14.3 minutes in those matchups.

Still, his lack of scoring — and, really, shot attempts — is notable. Key attempted six field goals in his first-ever game against Purdue. Since, he’s taken two shots versus the Big Ten foe, going the last two meetings without recording a field goal attempt.

Key explained Wednesday that was so focused on his defense in those games that his offense took a backseat. Not only was Key facing Edey, but he was also up against Trevion Williams, another Purdue big man and last year’s Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.

“The Big Ten, every team has good bigs,” Key said. “Every game, you go against a physical big who wants to knock your head off. It’s not just Zach Edey. It’s the whole Big Ten.”

Key continued: “Their team is finding him in the right spots. He’s obviously 7-foot-4, so they just lob the ball to him, and he just goes up and dunks it. Watching film on him, he’s been working on his touch, and it’s gotten better.”

Edey has made a jump in pretty much every major stat category this season. Holtmann said he saw that jump coming, given Edey’s usage rating.

He’s inside the top 30 nationally in percentage of possessions used for the second season in a row, according to KenPom. Last year, he was ninth at 34.4%, but he was averaging a mere 19 minutes per game.

“More consistent minutes, more consistent touches,” Holtmann said of the difference between Edey this year and last. “He’s now the primary focal point, where last year it was he and Williams and obviously had a lottery pick there (Jaden Ivey) that took some shot volume for sure. For good reason.

“So when you have a lottery pick and then you have a first-team all-league post guy along with Zach Edey, it’s less opportunity for him. That’s all it is.”

Edey has the spotlight now. As a rim protector — he’s averaging 2.15 blocks per game — and as a scorer.

As much as Thursday night’s bout will hinge on the play of Key, it’s going to take a team effort to slow down Edey. Emphasis on slow down. Because Ohio State, or any team for that matter, is not stopping Edey.

He’s been in double figures every game this season, and he’s been held to fewer than 10 rebounds just twice.

“Zach Edey’s not a one role player,” Buckeyes junior wing Eugene Brown III said. “We can’t just put Zed on him and say, ‘Zed, you defend him.’ It’s a whole team goal, team focus, team detailedness.

“There’s just a lot of focus that goes into guarding [him], it’s not just one person.”

After all, as Holtmann said, Edey is a “human cheat code.”

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