DETROIT — Purdue big man Zach Eady withstood all the abuse he received from Gonzaga on Friday night, posting 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers to an 80-68 victory and one win away from the Final Four. did.
Gonzaga leaned on the 7-foot-4 center, hitting him, grabbing him and slapping him in the forehead at times, but it wasn’t enough to stop him or the top-seeded team.
Purdue, which lost in the first round last year for the second time in history as a No. 1 seed, will face the winner of Friday’s late Midwest Region game between Tennessee and Creighton on Sunday.
A win there would send the program to the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
Brayden Smith had 14 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for the Boilermakers, but this game, like most of Purdue’s (32-4) games, was due to the opposing team’s inability to contain the nation’s leading scorer. It was the cause.
“Obviously with big Zack, there’s always going to be places for us to get the ball,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Fifth-seeded Gonzaga (27-8) held out for 30 minutes, but foul trouble and a shrinking basket ended their hopes.
Graham Icke had 18 points and 10 rebounds for head coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs, who shot just 38 percent through the first 15 minutes of the second half, the most in the past two seasons against Eady and the Boilermakers. They lost badly with 0 wins and 3 losses.
Like all of Gonzaga’s big men, Ike spent the night in foul trouble. He got his fifth and trudged off the court with 5:07 left.
Ike got into a scuffle in the paint with Eadie midway through the second half, earning his second foul while jawing each other after the referee’s whistle blew.
Eady made one of two free throws there, then followed with two baby hooks as part of a 10-0 run to bring the game to 16 points.
But no moment showed more frustration than at the end of the first half, when Ben Gregg, Gonzaga’s other big man, found himself pinned under the basket by Eadie. Edie dropped an easy layup, and Greg flipped over and hit center with a roundhouse that slapped him in the forehead.
Everything is par for the course for last season’s AP Player of the Year, who rolls out of bed in the morning with nearly a double-double.
At 14 minutes, 44 seconds into the second half, he achieved his 27th of the season and 66th of his career.
Eadie’s jumper in the paint was part of five shots he made from the floor.
Purdue outshot Gonzaga 32-25.
Eadie finished the night 10-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the line.
Although he didn’t have a block, he made things difficult for Gonzaga from low in Purdue’s zone, taking at least six shots in the second half.
