Purdue’s NCAA national championship opportunity
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One more win. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The Purdue Boilermakers are back in the March Madness main event.
Why it matters: Purdue hasn't made it to the final game of the men's NCAA Tournament in more than five decades, and the team has never won it all.
What they're saying: "This is what we've been talking about all year. The reason I came back is to play in games like these,'' Purdue center Zach Edey said of the opportunity. "To finally get to this game is big time … these are the games you play for and you work and practice every day for."
State of play: The No. 1 seed Boilermakers beat NC State 63-50 Saturday in a defensive Final Four matchup to advance to Monday night's national championship game against No. 1 seed UConn — the defending NCAA champions.
- Edey, who continues to stack player of the year accolades, led the team with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
- UConn trounced Alabama 86-72 to reach the title game, continuing a dominant run that has seen the Huskies beat all of their March Madness opponents by double digits.
Flashback: The Purdue men's first and last NCAA title game was in 1969 when they lost 92-72 to a UCLA Bruins team coached by Purdue legend John Wooden.
The intrigue: UConn walks into tonight's title game as the on-paper favorite, but the Boilermakers are ready to grind their way to another history-making victory.
- "It's everything we've worked for," said Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer. "We got 40 more minutes til we're national champs, so we're going to push everybody as far as we can and we're going to play as hard as we can.
💭 Justin's thought bubble: This is the moment so many Purdue fans have been waiting for, and I don't want to say anything to jinx it.
- I will say that if the game goes the way it should, please be safe on campus and don't set anything on fire.
How to watch: Purdue vs. UConn starts at 9:20pm on TBS, TNT and tru TV.
If you go: First, fly to Arizona.
Tickets start at $125 on Ticketmaster, $137 on Vivid Seats and $130 on StubHub.