Purdue's Zach Edey laid it all out in the NCAA title game. It wasn't enough to top dominant UConn
Purdue's Zach Edey finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds in a huge individual effort in Monday night's loss to UConn in the national title game
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Zach Edey spent all season as the dominant force at the heart of Purdue’s push for never-before-reached heights.
His space-eating presence, his back-to-the-basket offense, his ability to use length to score over defenders — he used it all to bring the Boilermakers within 40 minutes of their first national title. But the 7-foot-4 star and two-time Associated Press national player of the year just couldn't push the Boilermakers past a dominant UConn team on its own march to history.
Edey finished with 37 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in Monday night’s 75-60 loss to the Huskies, who became the first repeat men’s champion in 17 years.
He battled the entire way, both in an individual matchup against a strong post presence in the 7-2 Donovan Clingan as well as constant defensive attention and frequent rotating double-team help. And he kept running the court to add on buckets in the fleeting hope of a miracle, even as UConn had turned this matchup into another double-digit win.
