Was Zach Edey really getting the superstar treatment here?
Zach Edey is on to the Elite Eight with Purdue, but some hoops fans think he got some star treatment from referees.
There was one particular play from the March Madness Sweet 16 win over Gonzaga that had folks steaming — he appeared to get his elbow up high and into a Bulldogs player’s head as he was boxing out for a rebound in the first half. Then, he seemed to go over the back on Ryan Nembhard, before they got tangled up.
On that last one, yeah! Sure looks like a foul. Here are some thoughts from fans as they watched the Purdue win:
It was just last year that Purdue center Zach Edey ultimately decided to stay with the Boilermakers instead of declare for the NBA Draft, given that he was projected as a late first-rounder or a second-rounder.
I am endlessly fascinated by the possibility of putting Edey next to a rim protector like Chet Holmgren. Edey could provide the beef inside, and Holmgren would provide versatility. The combination looks incredible on paper, and I’d imagine Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault would do cartwheels if he could add another layer to his dynamic system with a center as big as Edey.
It was just last year that Purdue center Zach Edey ultimately decided to stay with the Boilermakers instead of declare for the NBA Draft, given that he was projected as a late first-rounder or a second-rounder.
I am endlessly fascinated by the possibility of putting Edey next to a rim protector like Chet Holmgren. Edey could provide the beef inside, and Holmgren would provide versatility. The combination looks incredible on paper, and I’d imagine Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault would do cartwheels if he could add another layer to his dynamic system with a center as big as Edey.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offers thoughts on Zach Edey’s NBA potential.
After a busy weekend, the 2024 NCAA Tournament has dwindled to 16 teams. A heavy favorite to win March Madness will be Purdue, and Zach Edey has played a large role in that.
Forgoing the 2023 NBA draft, Edey returned to college for his senior season at Purdue. The decision has paid off. He went from a late-second-round pick to a probable first-round selection in this year’s draft.
The 21-year-old has been dominant for Purdue, which entered the tournament 29-4 and the third overall seed. The 7-foot-4 center averaged 24.5 points on 62% shooting, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 35 games.
Through two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Edey’s dominance has carried over. He averaged 26.5 points on 68% shooting, 17.5 rebounds and three blocks in to blowout wins over Grambling and Utah State.
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is familiar with Edey. The pair played together for Canada during the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He led his home country to third place, the best finish it has ever had.
Edey is also somewhat familiar with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He visited OKC for a pre-draft interview last summer before removing his name from the draft pool and returning to college.
After the Thunder’s win over the Toronto Raptors, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about Edey and his thoughts on how translatable his game is to the NBA.
Doubts have surrounded Edey. The 300-pound big man might be too slow to succeed in the NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t a skeptic about his former teammate though. He believes he’s too dominant as a big man to fail.
“He’ll figure his way out. He’s big, he’s smart. He soaks things up quick. He’s a humble kid and wants to be really good,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s what I got from him this summer — besides, obviously, the eye-popping stats and skills and stuff like that. I think he’ll figure it out. As far as his archetype, the last two MVPs have been big guys, so he’ll be just fine.”
This is a pretty strong endorsement for Edey, who’ll get a chance to prove his skeptics wrong next season in the NBA. It’s a nice confidence booster to have one of the best players in the league in your corner.
As the final slate of games in the Round of 32 came to a close, the Big Ten was well represented. Purdue and Northwestern were in action, but only one team was able to extend its championship run.
For the Big Ten, Sunday got off to an encouraging start as No.1 Purdue beat No.8 Utah State. In the Boilermakers latest win, Zach Edey had another big performance. The talented center added 23 points to his resume while hauling in a team-high 14 rebounds. He also got some help from Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored 18 points.
Purdue will be back in action on Friday when they take on No.5 Gonzaga.
The final game of the night ended with a win for No.1 UConn over No.9 Northwestern. As the Huskies continued their impressive run, they were led by Tristen Newton. The El Paso native scored a team-high 20 points while dishing out 10 assists. He helped UConn build an early lead they would not relinquish.
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In this matchup, the Huskies dominated close to the basket. They outscored Northwestern 52-26 in the paint. UConn also won the blocked shots battle 9-0. From the first whistle, Northwestern was no match for the defending champs.
After three days off, UConn will be back in action on Thursday night against No.5 San Diego State.
Purdue HC Matt Painter calls out ‘moronic’ opinions about star center Zach Edey
Purdue advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on Sunday with a resounding 106-67 win over Utah State.
The Boilermakers appear poised for a deep run after years of frustrating NCAA Tournament losses — most notably losing to No. 16 seed Farleigh Dickinson in 2023 and No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s in 2022.
The discussion surrounding star center Zach Edey will be a story for as long as Purdue continues to win. Wisconsin fans know the story well, and voiced their displeasure with the whistle he received in the Badgers’ overtime win in the Big Ten Tournament.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.
Led by star center Zach Edey, here’s the full Purdue men’s basketball roster.
The Purdue Boilermakers entered March Madness as a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season, looking to redeem themselves from a shock loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson one year ago.
The Boilermakers are led by 7-foot-4 star Zach Edey, who earlier this year won the Big Ten Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season.
Edey led the country in scoring with 24.6 points per game, averaged a double-double with 12.0 rebounds per game, and also ranked inside the top 20 nationally with 2.2 blocks per game.
Head coach Matt Painter has recruited extensively from inside the state of Indiana. In total, 11 of Purdue’s 17 players are from the Hoosier State, including a trio of players all from Fort Wayne.
Here’s the full Purdue men’s basketball roster for the 2023-24 season, listed by jersey number.
#0 Mason Gillis
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Size: 6-foot-6, 225 pounds
From: New Castle, Indiana
#1 Caleb Furst
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
Size: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
#2 Fletcher Loyer
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Position: Guard
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-4, 180 pounds
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
#3 Braden Smith
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Guard
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-0, 175 pounds
From: Westfield, Indiana
#4 Trey Kaufman-Renn
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Forward
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-9, 230 pounds
From: Sellersburg, Indiana
#5 Myles Colvin
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Guard
Class: Freshman
Size: 6-foot-5, 200 pounds
From: Indianapolis, Indiana
#11 Brian Waddell
Syndication: Journal-Courier
Position: Forward
Class: Sophomore
Size: 6-foot-8, 190 pounds
From: Carmel, Indiana
#15 Zach Edey
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Position: Center
Class: Senior
Size: 7-foot-4, 300 pounds
From: Toronto, Ontario
#20 Josh Furst
Purdue Boilermakers guard Jace Rayl (32) and Purdue Boilermakers forward Josh Furst (20) wait to be subbed on during the men’s basketball exhibition game against Grace College. Syndication: Journal-Courier
A look at how the Big Ten did in the NCAA Tournament.
On the second day of March Madness, the Big Ten was unable to continue its undefeated streak. Two teams, Northwestern and Purdue, moved on. However, Nebraska and Wisconsin were not as lucky, as their title runs came to an end.
Entering the tournament, Purdue had one of the best odds of winning March Madness, and they showed why on Friday night. The Boilermakers held Grambling State to 50 points and a 36.4 field goal percentage. Purdue was led by Zach Edey, who scored 30 points and added 21 rebounds to his resume. The Boilermakers will take on No.8 Utah State on Sunday at 2:40 in the afternoon.
Joining Purdue in the win column was Northwestern who beat FAU 77-65 in overtime. The Wildcats were led by Ryan Langborg, who scored a team-high 27 points. Northwestern also made the most of their opportunities from three-point range, shooting 34.8 percent. On Sunday, the Wildcats will be back in action against No.1 UConn at 7:45 pm.
Upsets have been abundant through the first few days of March Madness, and No.5 Wisconsin was on the losing side on Friday. The Badgers took on No.12 James Madison and couldn’t recover from a slow start in a 72-61 loss. They also turned the ball over 19 times and were outscored in the paint 30-22.
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The last game of the day featuring a Big Ten team was between No.9 Texas A&M and No.8 Nebraska. In a hard-fought battle, the Aggies emerged with a 98-83 win. They were able to pull away late, partly due to their three-point shooting and success in getting close to the basket. As the Aggies punched their ticket to the Round of 32, they outscored Nebraska in the paint 44-38.
Do you agree with Matt Painter about how star center Zach Edey is officiated?
Purdue head coach Matt Painter joined The Ride with JMV on Indianapolis, Indiana’s 93.5 The Fan recently to discuss his Purdue team entering the NCAA Tournament.
One big topic of conversation was star center Zach Edey, a soon-to-be two-time Wooden Award winner and one of the best players in the program’s history.
Painter had a long response defending Edey, saying he actually gets fouled more than what’s called. Here’s nearly a two-minute bit of Painter’s 20-minute interview:
“You get radio hosts and different people that follow the game that are saying crazy things. It’s a level of ignorance that’s unmatched. (Zach Edey) doesn’t deserve any of that. … The people that understand basketball, the people we go against coaching and playing, you see some tactics out there, you see guys that are cheap-shotting him and chucking him and doing some different things, then they make a big deal about all the calls that he gets.
If you sit down and actually watch the game, and you know the rules, and you watch what’s going on from the two hands in the back to the hook-and-holds, to the guys trying to take charges when he’s diving, things of that nature, where they’re not trying to take those charges on anyone else in the country. That’s how people get hurt. That’s why they changed the block/charge and making guys be more set, because they don’t want collisions and they don’t want guys getting hurt. …
When you get into the NCAA Tournament, you’ll get people that have never reffed him. You can’t have two rules. … Any ref would say ‘the rules are for everybody,’ yet as the game progresses they’ll call it differently, and they think we’re getting away with it because at the end of the game, he has 13 fouls drawn. But go back and watch the game. How many times does he get fouled, by the letter of the law, 25, 20? …
I’ve had Final Four officials, not one of them, 10 of them, come over and say: ‘They foul him every play. He gets fouled every single play.’ And this is their words.”
The one remark about drawing charges is most likely about Wisconsin’s plan, and Tyler Wahl’s perfect execution late in the game that was somehow called a blocking foul.
Should this have been a foul on Wisconsins Tyler Wahl or Zach Edey
In Painter’s mind, those inconsistencies should have gone the other way and punished Wisconsin even more.
Keep in mind: Edey committed two fouls that game — each coming two minutes in to the game. That means the officiating crew believed the star center played more than an entire game of action without committing a single foul.
Whether the Big Ten Tournament semifinal was called correctly or not, the officiating of Edey will be a point of discussion when Purdue takes the court in the NCAA Tournament. Once again, the program is a No. 1 seed, though is looking to avoid a third early exit in the last four seasons.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.
For the Big Ten, Friday night was full of action as the Big Ten Tournament continued. Sixteen teams were fighting for the opportunity to play in the semifinals. However, the only four teams moving on will be Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Nebraska.
The closest game of the night was between Illinois and Ohio State. In this hard-fought battle, Illinois emerged with a 77-74 win, as Terrence Shannon Jr. had a big game with 28 points. The Fighting Illini also performed well in the paint and outrebounded Ohio State 44-40. They will face Wisconsin on Saturday.
In the matchup between Michigan State and Purdue, the Spartans nearly shocked the college basketball world in a 67-62 loss. Purdue outscored Michigan State 34-27 in the first half but was outscored 35-33 in the final 20 minutes. The Boilermakers were led by Zach Edey, who scored 29 points for the third-ranked team in the country. They will face Wisconsin who beat Northwestern on Friday.
Against the Wildcats, Wisconsin was on fire from beyond the arc. The Badgers shot 45.5 percent from three-point range, which allowed them to build an early lead. They were led by AJ Storr, who had a team-high 30 points. They also dominated close to the basket, outscoring Northwestern 28-16 in the paint.
The final game of the night ended with a 93-66 Nebraska win over Indiana. Nebraska thrived from beyond the arc, shooting 50 percent from three-point range. They were led offensively by Brice Williams who had 23 points, while only missing five shots.
