Breaking down Arizona's challenge to stop Purdue's Zach Edey
Arizona has its work cut out for it. On Saturday, No. 1 Arizona will face off against No. 3 Purdue, led by reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey. On3’s Joe Tipton revealed how Edey will challenge the Wildcats.
“How do you stop it?” Tipton told On3’s Andy Staples. “I understand there are other 7-footers in college basketball, but when you have a guy that’s 7-foot-4, 300 pounds, moves the way he does, is able to score and get to the free-throw line.
“Everybody always wants to say, ‘Oh, he’s shooting 25 free throws a game.’ Well, it’s because you have to foul him in order to stop him. He’s that strong. He’s that physical. He’s that big of a post presence. He’s a difficult one to stop and he gets your frontcourt players in trouble. It is hard to stop that big man.”
Other teams have learned that lesson the hard way this season. Through 10 games, Edey is averaging 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting a stunning 63% from the field. Further, Edey seemingly only improves against better competition.
In Purdue’s 92-86 win over Alabama on Saturday, the Ontario native tallied 35 points and seven rebounds. Edey was perfect from the charity stripe, connecting on all 11 of his attempts from the line.
Less than a month earlier, Edey amassed 48 points over a two-game stretch against No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Gonzaga. Despite Edey’s success this season, Arizona won’t be a push-over.
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Arizona ready to stand its ground
The Wildcats are holding opponents to 38.95% shooting this season, ranking No. 28 in the country. Additionally, Arizona rarely allows second-chance opportunities. The Wildcats average 32.38 defensive rebounds a night, the fifth-most nationally.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd knows his team is in for a war this weekend.
“They’re a great team,” Lloyd said of Purdue. “They have the most dominant player in college basketball. It’s well-documented and proven time and time again. They’ve got a great coach. I think if you take Edey out of the mix, I still think it’s a top-20 team. I think that really says something about how they’ve built that team in that program.
“We know we’ve got an incredible challenge on our hands. Obviously, you’re asking yourself lots of questions and preparation, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. It’s gonna be a fun environment and it could be incredibly challenging and it’s exactly what we need.”
Arizona and Purdue will go head-to-head at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.
