DETROIT — They leaned on him. They jawed at him. One time, they slapped him right across the forehead.
None of it came close to stopping Purdue’s big man, and now Zach Edey and the Boilermakers are one win away from the NCAA tournament’s Final Four.
The 7-foot-4, 300-pound senior center withstood all the abuse Gonzaga could lay on him Friday night, with Edey finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lift No. 1 seed Purdue to an 80-68 victory over the fifth-seeded Bulldogs in a Midwest Region semifinal at Little Caesars Arena.
There were highlights galore for the Big Ten’s Boilermakers, including a 14-point, 15-assist, eight-rebound masterpiece from guard Braden Smith.
No moment, though, told the story better than at the end of the first half, when Edey had Gonzaga’s Ben Gregg pinned underneath the basket. Gregg, in a desperation move to make a play, flailed at the ball and ended up roundhousing Edey full-on in the forehead with his open hand, picking up his third foul.