Zach Edey scores 28 as No. 2 Purdue holds off No. 4 Marquette to win Maui Invitational
HONOLULU — Purdue coach Matt Painter says his team has seen every strategy when it comes to Zach Edey . In Wednesday’s finals at the Maui Invitational, Marquette tried fronting, bracketing and doubling.
No matter the strategy, Edey seems to always produce. The returning National Player of the Year scored 28 points and had 15 rebounds in a 78-75 win for No. 2 Purdue.
The hidden statistic that made all the difference was the fouls that Edey draws. Marquette center Oso Ighodaro , who outplayed UCLA ’s Adem Bona and then KU star Hunter Dickinson , was again brilliant offensively against Purdue, scoring 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, but he went to the bench five minutes, 23 seconds into the game with two fouls.
Marquette outscored Purdue by one point in Ighodaro’s eight first-half minutes, but Purdue pushed its lead to 12 at halftime with the help of a buzzer-beating 70-footer by Lance Jones . Marquette’s backup center Ben Gold also had three first-half fouls and Marquette had to go with an all-small lineup at one point in the first half.
The Golden Eagles had chances late, taking advantage of Edey’s inability to guard away from the basket. Marquette did a good job of putting Edey in actions outside the paint and then getting to the rim or kicking it out for open 3s. But every time it looked like they might take the lead, Edey would come up with an offensive rebound.
Marquette played perfect defense on a possession in the final minute with Purdue clinging to a one-point lead, but when Braden Smith fired up a shot just before the shot-clock buzzer, Edey was there for the tip-in.
The Boilers should be No.1 on Monday after winning against the most stacked field this tournament has ever seen. For the second straight year, Purdue looks like the best team in the country in November. What’s changed this year is Edey has more help, with Smith emerging as one of the best point guards in the country and Jones giving Purdue the speed it lacked a year ago.(Photo: Steven Erler / USA Today)
