Matt Painter cuts down nets as Purdue advances to Final Four for first time since 1980
The No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers and No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers delivered an absolute classic of a basketball game on Sunday afternoon in their Elite Eight showdown in Detroit, Michigan. The game was back-and-forth for much of the contest with both teams trading baskets throughout.
Both teams got incredible performances from their superstars, Tennessee from Dalton Knecht and Purdue from their big man, Zach Edey. In the end Purdue prevailed in one of the most entertaining games of the tournament. Once the Boilermakers punched their tickets to the Final Four for the first time since 1980, Purdue got to cut the nets down.
Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter got to celebrate the historic victory by climbing the ladder and cutting the nets.
Purdue became the Midwest Regional Champion. The Boilermakers had two players land on the Midwest All-Region Team: Zach Edey and Braden Smith. Dalton Knecht also landed on that team for Tennessee.
Zach Edey and Dalton Knecht became the first players to both score for 30-plus points in an Elite Eight game since 1990. Edey finished with 40 points, becoming just the fourth time in Boilermaker program history that a player has scored 40 or more in an NCAA Tournament game.
Dalton Knecht erupted for 37 points, three rebounds, and one assist in the loss.
Purdue manhandled Tennessee on the glass, 44-31. Fletcher Loyer poured in 27 points for the Boilermakers in the win. He’s been one of the best guards in America the past few seasons and he stepped up in a big way when his team needed it.
Up next, Purdue will face off against the NC State Wolfpack, who continue to march on one of the more improbable rides in college basketball history. Not only have the Wolfpack rattled off nine wins in the past few weeks, but they punched their tickets to the Final Four for the first time since 1983.
Purdue has a fascinating story of their own, after becoming just the second No. 1 seed in tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers have used that humiliation and adversity to propel them all the way to the Final Four this year. In 2018, the Virginia Cavaliers lost to No. 16 seed UMBC, then came back the next year to win the 2019 National Championship.
Can Purdue pull of the same feat? Time will tell. For now, Purdue fans should enjoy making it to the first Final Four in over 40 years. It’s never easy.