Zach Edey scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead No. 5 Purdue to an 80-66 victory over Ohio State in a Big Ten tournament semifinal on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
Top-seeded Purdue (28-5) advances to the final on Sunday where it will face No. 10 seed Penn State. It is the Boilermakers’ fourth appearance in the final in the past seven times the tournament was held.
The Boilermakers are trying to win their first conference tournament title since 2009. If Purdue wins, it would be the first time it wins both the Big Ten tournament and regular season titles in the same season.
No. 13 seed Ohio State (16-19) — a team which at one point lost nine consecutive games and 14 in a 15-game stretch — saw its remarkable run in the conference tournament end. Ohio State became the lowest seed to ever advance to the Big Ten semifinals.
The Buckeyes, who were resilient despite losing leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh (knee) in the second round, put together a 16-4 surge early in the first half and led 29-21 with 8:18 left.
Purdue then closed out the first half on a 21-5 run keyed by Edey, who overcame double- and triple-teams to find easy scores and open teammates for good looks from the perimeter.
Brandon Newman finished with 15 points and Braden Smith totaled 14 points.
Edey posted his seventh game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, and his 25th double-double. Edey shot 12 of 25 from the field, helping Purdue shoot 48.8 percent from the field (28 for 58).
Ohio State, which was trying to win its first Big Ten title since 2013 and sneak into the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid, was led by Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 20 points, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range. The Buckeyes kept themselves in the game with their long-distance shooting, making 10 of 24 3-point attempts. Justice Sueing finished with 15 points.
–Field Level Media
