GLENDALE, Ariz. — Purdue is one win away from pulling a Virginia.
Losing as a No. 1 seed in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year, the Boilermakers are now 40 minutes from the ultimate redemption.
In their first Final Four since 1980, Purdue didn’t show much jitters.
It raced out to an early lead and was in control much of the way, knocking off No. 11 N.C. State, 63-50, at State Farm Stadium to earn a spot in Monday’s national championship game.
Zach Edey was contained at times by N.C. State big men DJ Burns Jr. and Ben Middlebrooks, but he still was dominant.
He produced 20 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots, extending his streak of tournament games with 20 and 10 to six.
It is the longest streak of such tournament games since Elvin Hayes in 1967-68.
The 7-foot-4 Edey had plenty of help.
Lance Jones, a Southern Illinois transfer who wasn’t part of that upset to FDU last March, had 14 points and Fletcher Loyer added 11.
Purdue finally pulled away late in the second half, ripping off a 12-1 run to build an 18-point lead after Loyer and Braden Smith (six assists) knocked down consecutive 3-pointers.
The Boilermakers’ defense was the real story.
NC State had come in riding a nine-game winning streak — all while facing elimination.
In that span, they were averaging 78.7 points.
They managed just 50 on 36.8 percent shooting Saturday night and shot 26.3 percent from distance.
DJ Horne led N.C. State with 20 points, while Burns, the Wolfpack’s breakout star over the last month, was limited to eight points on 4-of-10 shooting.
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