By Bert Leeson
4 6 2024
NC State Game Notes | Purdue Game Notes
PHOENIX, Ariz – The NC State men’s basketball team arrived in Phoenix, Ariz., Wednesday afternoon for the 2024 Final Four.
The Pack opens play in the Final Four on Saturday evening when it faces No. 1 seed Purdue. Tipoff against the Boilermakers is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on TBS.
NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
– NC State won the South Region and advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1983 with a 76-64 win over Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday evening.
– The Pack put together a dominating second half, outscoring Duke 55-37, to overcome a six-point halftime deficit. NC State shot 73.1 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes (19-26), including 85% (17-of-20) on two-point field goals.
– For the sixth consecutive game, NC State’s defense held its opponent under 40 percent shooting as Duke shot just 32.2 percent from the field. The Blue Devils field goal percentage was a season-low for an NC State opponent.
– In the two games in Dallas, NC State’s defense held Marquette and Duke to a combined 32.8 percent shooting from the field and just 17.6 percent (9-of-51) from three-point range. Duke’s 64 points were the second fewest it scored in a game this season while Marquette’s 58 points were just fourth time it was held under 60 points.
– DJ Burns, Jr., led NC State over Duke with a season-high 29 points. He finished the game 13-of-19 from the field and added three assists (zero turnovers) and two blocks. Burns was dominant in the second half as he scored 21 of his 29 points in the final 20 minutes and was 9-of-11 from the field.
– Burns, Jr., was named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player. In four NCAA Tournament games, Burns is averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting 73.3 percent from the field. He is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per contest.
– DJ Horne added 20 points in the win over Duke. He is averaging 16.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and 2.5 three-pointers made per contest. Horne is just the third player in program history – joining Scott Wood (2012-13) and Rodney Monroe (1990-91) – to hit over 100 three-pointers in a single season. Wood and Monroe are currently tied for first place on the program’s single-season three-point list with 104. Horne needs just two three-pointers to become the program’s single-season three-point leader.
NC State Series with Purdue
– Saturday is the 7th all-time meeting between NC State and Purdue. The Pack leads the all-time series, 4-2, but Purdue has won the last two games.
– The two programs last met on December 12, 2021 in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., with top-ranked Purdue defeating NC State in overtime, 82-72. NC State never trailed in regulation and led by as many as 13 points in the second half. The Pack still had an eight-point lead at the final media timeout of the second half, but Purdue closed regulation on a 12-4 run to force overtime and ran away with the win in the extra five minutes.
NC State in the NCAA Tournament
– This is the Pack’s second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 29th all-time. NC State has an all-time record of 41-26 in the NCAA Tournament.
NC State in the Final Four
– This is NC State’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
– It previously made the Final Four in 1950, 1974 and 1983.
COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
FINAL FOUR GAME NOTES
https://purduesports.com/documents/2024/4/2/GAME38_Purdue_Game_Notes.pdf
[1 – MW] Purdue (33-4) vs. [11 – S] North Carolina State (26-14)
Saturday, April 6, 2024
6:09 p.m. ET | 3:09 p.m. PT
Glendale, Arizona | State Farm Stadium (63,000)
TELEVISION: TBS, TNT, TruTV (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson)
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One (Kevin Kugler, Clark Kellogg, Jim Jackson)
PURDUE RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The Midwest Region champion, Purdue Boilermakers, continue its quest for their first National Championship when it faces North Carolina State in the National Semifinals at Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium on Saturday. The Boilermakers last appeared in the NCAA Championship game in 1969 and are looking for their second title game appearance in school history.
• The Boilermakers are the Big Ten’s first representative in the Final Four since Michigan State in 2019.
• Purdue will play a game in April for the first time in school history and Saturday’s expected crowd of 60,000-plus will be the largest crowd to ever see Purdue play.
• With the win over Tennessee on Sunday, the Boilermakers won their 33rd game of the year and are now 33-4 on the season. The 33 victories are a continuing school record, and marks only the second season in Purdue history with at least 30 victories (30-7 in 2017-18).
• Purdue has won its first four games in the NCAA Tournament by a combined 85 points (78-50 vs. Grambling; 106-67 vs. Utah State; 80-68 vs. Gonzaga; 72-66 vs. Tennessee). It is the third-largest margin of victory through four games in NCAA Tournament history.
• Purdue made its second Elite Eight in the last five seasons (2019) after going 19 years between appearances (2000). The Boilermakers are one of six teams (Purdue, Arkansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Miami, UConn) with multiple Elite Eight appearances in the last five seasons.
• With the win over Tennessee, Purdue improved to 10-0 this season against nationally-ranked teams. The Boilermakers are the second team in the last 15 years to play at least 10 games against nationally-ranked teams without a loss (2012 Kentucky; 10-0).
• Purdue has won 21 straight non-conference, regular-season and postseason games against power-conference OR nationally-ranked teams. It equals the second-longest streak in NCAA history, and is just behind the 22 straight by UCLA from 1971 to 1974. A win over North Carolina State would give Purdue 22 straight wins against power-conference or nationally-ranked teams outside of the Big Ten. Purdue’s last loss against a power-conference or ranked team not in the Big Ten was Dec. 8, 2020, vs. Miami, Fla. (58-54).
• Purdue is 19-5 (.783) against nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season, easily the best record in America (Arizona; 14-7).
• Braden Smith is the second player in NCAA history with at least 450 points, 275 assists and 200 rebounds in a season (BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth – 2016).
• Braden Smith moved into second place on the Big Ten’s single-season assists list with 278 (Cassius Winston – 291), needing 14 assists to break the record for most assists by a player in Big Ten history.
• Zach Edey scored 40 points with 16 rebounds in the win over Tennessee. He has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in five straight NCAA Tournament games, tying the longest streak in NCAA Tournament history (David Robinson – 5 games).
• In four NCAA Tournament games this season, Zach Edey has 120 points, 65 rebounds and seven assists. Edey joins Jerry West (1959) and Larry Bird (1979) as the only players in NCAA Tournament history to reach those marks in a single NCAA Tournament.
• Zach Edey ranks third in points (2,459) and rebounds (1,299) in Big Ten history and needs just six rebounds to move into second place, tying Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy (1,305; 2016-19).
• Purdue was voted No. 3 in the final AP poll on March 18. With the No. 3 final ranking, Purdue has now been ranked in the top 5 of the AP poll for 36 straight weeks, the longest-active streak in America by 17 weeks (UConn – 19). It has been ranked in the top 3 in 30 of those weeks. The 36 weeks of being ranked in the top 5 is the third longest in confererence history (41 — Ohio State, 1960-63; 38 — Indiana, 1975-77).
• The No. 3 ranking in the final AP poll matches the highest final ranking in school history (also 2023, 1994, 1988).
in school history, when it takes on North Carolina State on April 6.
• Purdue is looking to reach the National Championship game for the first time since 1969, when it lost to Lew Alcindor and UCLA. The Boilermakers faced another ACC team in the semifinals, North Carolina, to reach the finals (92-65 win).
• Purdue will face an ACC team in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since, the Virginia game in the 2019 Elite Eight. Coincidentally, that game also came after a contest with Tennessee.
• Purdue’s 92 assists entering the Final Four are the most since the 1994-95 Kentucky team had 100 assists entering the Final Four. Purdue has assisted on 92 of its 122 made field goals (75.4 percent).
• Zach Edey is the first player to lead the country in scoring and reach a Final Four since Oscar Robertson in 1960.
• Purdue is second nationally behind Kansas (66.9) in assist rate, assisting on 65.8 percent of all its made field goals.
• Purdue is averaging 83.5 points per game, an increase of 10.8 points per game from a year ago, the Boilermakers’ highest increase in scoring average since the 1992-93 to 1993-94 season (+13.5).
• Purdue ranks 10th nationally in scoring offense, its highest NCAA ranking in the 19 years under Matt Painter.
• The Boilermakers rank second nationally in rebound margin (behind Saint Mary’s) at +11.6. Purdue led the country a year ago (+10.8).
• Purdue is 27-0 when it has 13 or fewer turnovers on the season. The Boilermakers are 6-4 when they have 14 or more turnovers.
• Purdue has trailed by 10 or more points in six games this year. The Boilermakers are 4-2 in those games with wins over Alabama, Minnesota, Illinois and Tennessee. The losses are to Nebraska and Ohio State.
• Purdue has started the same starting five in all 37 games. Purdue has never had a season where it started the same five all season.
• A year ago, Purdue shot 32.2 percent from 3-point range, a number that ranked 281st nationally. This year, Purdue is at 40.6 percent, leading the country in 3-point percentage. Purdue had one player (Braden Smith) shoot over 36.0 percent from deep a year ago. This year, Purdue has seven players over 36.0 percent and another (Lance Jones) at 35.8 percent.
• Purdue is 39-1 (Nebraska; Jan. 2024) in its last 40 games when making 10 or more 3-pointers. Purdue made 11 in the win over Utah State.
• During this senior group’s career (since 2010-11), Purdue is 49-2 when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field (losses to Indiana – Feb. 4, 2023; Michigan State – Feb. 26, 2022).
• Since the 2020-21 season, Purdue is 39-4 when having single-digit turnovers. In the four losses, Purdue is 20-of-82 (.244) from deep.
• Zach Edey’s assist-to turnover ratio over his four years (FR – 0.26; SOPH – 0.69; JR – 0.68; SR – 0.91).
• Zach Edey has scored at least 22 points in 14 straight games. He has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in 10 of those games.
• Zach Edey became the first player since Lew Alcindor (1967-68) to have at least 50 points, 35 rebounds and to shoot better than 65.0 percent from the field in the first two NCAA Tournament games.
• Zach Edey became the first player since Memphis’ Larry Kenon in 1975 to have at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists in an NCAA Tournament game.
• Zach Edey ranks fifth on the NCAA’s all-time free throw attempts list with 424. The NCAA record for free throws attempted are 444 by Furman’s Frank Selvy in 1953-54. Edey’s 424 free throw attempts are the most for a player since 1970 (Pete Maravich – 436).
• Mason Gillis’ 40.8 career 3-point percentage (146-of-358) is the sixth-best percentage in school history. His season 3-point percentage of 47.5 (56-of-118) is third in school history.
• Lance Jones’ 76, 3-pointers this season are tied for the 15th most in a season in Purdue history.
