ThePurduemen's basketball team is in the Final Four for the first time since 1980 after wins over No. 16 Grambling State, No. 8 Utah State, No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 2 Tennessee.
Purdue (33-4) takes on No. 11 NC State (26-14) tonight in the national semifinal. The Boilermakers hope to make the national championship game for the first time since 1969.
Sam King, Gregg Doyel and Kyle Neddenriepwill have analysis throughout, and we will have scoring updates, highlights and more.Please remember to refresh.
Final: Purdue beats NC State to advance to national championship
Purdue is in the national championship game. They will play either UConn or Alabama. This comes a year after they lost to a 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The only other No. 1 team to lose to a 16 seed is Virginia, which won the national title a year later.
Zach Edey had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Lance Jones had 14 points and 4 rebounds. The Boilermakers shot 40% from the field.
Purdue 63, NC State 50
3:12 left 2H: Purdue up big over NC State
Purdue went on a 6-0 run after Zach Edey, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer all scored. It's 55-42 Purdue, which is the largest lead of the game.
Fletcher Loyer hit a 3 at 4:38. He has 11 points (3 for 5 from 3-point range). Braden Smith made a 3 at 3:24. That is his first bucket of the game.
Purdue 61, NC State 43
7:37 left 2H: NC State cuts Purdue's lead to 7 points
Zach Edey made a jumper at 9:35. That was answered with a layup by Mohamed Diarra. DJ Hornbe hit a jumper at 8:04. He has 20 points.
Purdue 49, NC State 42
9:51 left 2H: Purdue holds single-digit lead over NC State
DJ Burns made a jumper at 12:24. Zach Edey answered a minute later with a jumper of his own. At 10:52, DJ Horne nailed a 3. Purdue has turned the ball over 13 times.
Purdue 47, NC State 38
12:40 left 2H: Purdue extends lead with 3-point shooting
At 13:41, Mason Gillis hit a 3-pointer to extend Purdue's lead to 9 points. Speaking of 3s, Lance Jones made one at 12:43. The Boilermakers are cooking now.
Purdue 45, NC State 33
15:52 left 2H: Turnovers hurting Purdue, but Boilers still lead
Lance Jones hit a 3-pointer at 19:16 to make it 38-29. DJ Burns made a layup at 17:59 to cut into Purdue's lead (39-31). DJ Horne made 2 free throws at 16:14 to cut the Boilermakers' lead to 6.
Purdue has 10 turnovers. For the season, they average 11.7 per game.
Purdue 39, NC State 33
Halftime: Purdue holds a 6-point lead in Final Four vs. NC State
Fletcher Loyer made a 3 with 9 seconds left to give the Boilermakers a bit of a cushion going into the second half.
Purdue shot 43% in the first half while NC State shot 45%. The Wolfpack did not attempt a free throw. The Boilermakers had 8 turnovers.
Zach Edey had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Braden Smith had 0 points, 5 turnovers, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Purdue 35, NC State 29
0:20 left: NC State is right there with Purdue
Trey Kaufman-Renn made a jumper after the timeout. Fletcher Loyer drew a charge from NC State's Casey Morsell, but the possession ended with another Braden Smith turnover. NC State's DJ Horne hit a 3 at 1:28 to make it a 5-point Purdue lead. Horne hit another jumper at 0:39.
Purdue 32, NC State 29
3:24 left 1H: NC State makes a comeback vs. Purdue
Zach Edey made back-to-back free throws after the latest timeout. From there though, NC State scored 6 straight points. Edey broke the streak with a layup at 4:44. NC State's Jayden Taylor hit a 3-pointer at 3:56 to cut Purdue's lead to 5 points.
Braden Smith has 0 points, 4 turnovers, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Purdue 30, NC State 25
6:29 left 1H: Purdue leads NC State by 10 in Final Four
Michael O'Connell made a 3-pointer for NC State at 15:31. On the ensuing possession, Braden Smith turned it over. That's his second over-and-back violation in less than 5 minutes. Zach Edey made a jumper at 14:51 to give Purdue a 7-point lead.
DJ Burns, with Edey right on him, hit a jumper. O'Connell went down and was walking with a limp. He exited the game, grabbing the back of his leg.
Edey made a jumper at 12:58 to get Purdue's lead up to 7 again. Jayden Taylor made a layup, but Edey answered with a layup of his own at 11:17. At 10:11, Lance Jones nailed a 3-pointer to give the Boilers a 10-point lead (their largest lead of the game so far).
Burns made a jumper, then Edey hit another jumper. DJ Horne made a 3 at 9:16. At 7:17, Mason Gillis converted a 3-pointer to give Purdue a 10-point lead again.
Purdue 26, NC State 16
15:46 left 1H: Purdue starts strong in Final Four
Purdue started with back-to-back jumpers from Trey Kaufman-Renn and Zach Edey. DJ Horne answered for NC State with a layup. At the 18:02 mark, Fletcher Loyer hit a 3-pointer for the Boilermakers. Kaufman-Renn made consecutive free throws to make it a 5-0 run for Purdue. That ended with a Horne jumper. At 15:48, Lance Jones hit a 3 to give the Boilermakers an 8-point lead.
Purdue 12, NC State 4
Drew Brees at Final Four to cheer on Purdue basketball
Drew Brees taking Purdue to the Rose Bowl has some competition as the school's modern athletic peak as theBoilermakersplay in their firstFinal Fourin 44 years tonight in Glendale, Ariz.
The former Boilers QB and NFL star was in attendance rooting on his alma mater.
NC State vs. Purdue start time in Final Four
6:09 p.m. ET Saturday, April 6, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale Arizona.
What channel is Final Four on?
TV: TBS, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Grant Hill and Bill Raftery (anaysis) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporting)
Radio:Purdue Sports Network(96.5 FM in Lafayette, 1260 AM in Indianapolis), with Rob Blackman (play-by-play) and Bobby Riddell (analysis)
Streaming: SiriusXM Channel 84
When is the Final Four?
First semifinal: Purdue vs. N.C. State, 6:09 ET p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2024
Second semifinal: UConn vs. Alabama, approx. 8:49 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2024
Championship game: Saturday's winners, 9:20 p.m. on Monday, April 8, 2024
Where is the Final Four?
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Purdue basketball vs. NC State betting odds in Final Four
Purdue is favored over NC State by 9.5 points, according to BetMGM.
Purdue basketball news
How to watch:Final Four 2024 betting odds, TV, streaming for March Madness
What to know:Purdue basketball vs NC State scouting report, matchups in Final Four
Doyel on Edey, Burns:Zach Edey arrives at Final Four with more awards, DJ Burns-sized chip on his shoulder.
Purdue coach:Matt Painter reveals keys to beating NC State in Final Four
Doyel on Gillis:Final Four-bound Purdue has just one dominant personality type, and nope, not him. Or him!
'You really can't prepare for this':Purdue's Brian Waddell takes in Final Four appearance
Dana Hunsinger Benbow:Gene Keady's Purdue never made Final Four. But in many ways, this one belongs to him.
Doyel on Heide:Nothing to see here, just Purdue's Cam Heide and me comparing dunking notes at Final Four
Assistant coach:A dented chair in Brandon Brantley's office a testament to Zach Edey's off-court work ethic
