On track to clinch his second consecutive unanimous National Player of the Year honor, Zach Edey of Purdue reached a significant milestone during the Boilermakers’ 75-69 triumph over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference last Sunday.
With 18 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocked shots, Edey joined a rare group of players in NCAA history by achieving 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 200 blocked shots, while maintaining a shooting accuracy of at least 60 percent. Prior to this, only Patrick Ewing and David Robinson had accomplished this feat.
Edey aims to further enhance his remarkable performance on Saturday night in West Lafayette, Ind., as the No. 2 Boilermakers seek to secure a season sweep of in-state rival Indiana.
“Those are elite, elite basketball players, Hall of Famers,” Edey said of Ewing and Robinson. “Being mentioned in the same air as them is great, obviously. I kind of want to keep working. I’m not satisfied with, ‘Oh, I can tell my grandkids I did this.’
“I want to keep going. I want to keep becoming a better basketball player every year.”
This season, Edey appears to have achieved just that by being marginally more effective. The 7-foot-4 center is converting a higher percentage of his shots – 63.1 percent as opposed to 60.7 percent last season – and averaging a career-high of 23.1 points per game, while also contributing more assists and blocks.
Edey has also benefited from improved guard play at Purdue (21-2, 10-2 Big Ten). Lance Jones, a transfer from Southern Illinois, who led the team in scoring against Wisconsin with 20 points, has taken advantage of Edey’s presence to raise his shooting percentage by nearly 7 percent from last season and contribute 13 points per game.
Furthermore, Braden Smith consistently fills up the stat sheet, averaging 12.4 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game.
“We have an elite point guard and we have an elite center,,” remarked Boilermakers coach Matt Painter.
On the other hand, Indiana (14-9, 6-6) enters the upcoming game with momentum after erasing an 18-point deficit in the second half to secure a 76-73 victory against Ohio State on Tuesday.
Malik Reneau ended with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Trey Galloway contributed 25 points for the Hoosiers. Anthony Leal delivered the decisive 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining and sealed the win with two foul shots in the final two seconds.
However, Purdue proved to be a difficult matchup for the Hoosiers on Jan. 16 in Bloomington, Ind. Edey drew numerous fouls on his way to 33 points and 14 rebounds in an 87-66 victory that saw the Boilermakers establish a commanding 51-29 halftime lead.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson believes his team needs to play with physicality against Edey in order to have a chance to counteract the 300-pounder’s dominance inside.
“Our front line is going to have to battle,” Woodson said. “We’ve got to attempt to bang and be aggressive with him. There is no secret method. We might try fronting him some. We’ll try to come up with a game plan between now and Saturday.”
Reneau leads the Hoosiers with an average of 16.4 points per game, shooting 57.8 percent, while Kel’el Ware contributes 14.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Ware encountered foul trouble at Ohio State, managing only six points in 26 minutes.
