There were tons of nerve-wracking moments for the Lunatic. The Boilers jumped out to an early lead as Fletcher Loyer hit a three-pointer and Trey Kaufman-Renn hit a shot in the lane and a couple of free throws. But Purdue’s Braden Smith had a very uncharacteristic game – starting with 2 over and back turnovers. And NC State would settle down from the early start, led by DJ Horne.

There was then an unfortunate moment for the Wolfpack as Michael O’Connell off a steal drove to the basket and fell injuring his hamstring. I hated seeing it as I have remembered so many times where a Purdue player like Robbie Hummel went down with a non-contact injury. O’Connell did come back a couple of times but he was clearly not himself.

However, Jayden Taylor came in and played excellent defense. As did Ben Middlebrooks on Zach Edey as they managed to steal the ball from Edey multiple times without fouling him.

DJ Horne hit a couple of baskets to cut the lead to 3 points late in the first half, but Fletcher Loyer hit a huge three-pointer to end the half and give the Boilers a 6 point lead.

Lance Jones hit a three-pointer to lead the scoring for the 2nd half and the lead was back out to 9 points. But once again, Horne kept the Wolfpack in the game with a few baskets. This led into a very nervous time for the Lunatic as neither team could score for the next 2 1/2 minutes. Purdue would turn the ball over, but NC State couldn’t capitalize. Both teams were playing very solid defense.

Then, Zach Edey found Mason Gillis for a three pointer, and Braden Smith found Lance Jones for a three pointer. And the lead was back to double digits.

DJ Horne continued to try to chip away, as a jumper with 8 minutes made it a 49-42 game. But that was as close as the Wolfpack would get.

Over the next 5 minutes, Purdue would go on a 14-1 run, including two three pointers by Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith that put the game out of reach.

Zach Edey still led the Boilers with 20 points as so much of Purdue’s offense went through him, and Edey had a couple huge blocks on defense to keep the Wolfpack at bay. But it was a huge game from Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer, who managed to hit some key shots at moments when the Boilers had gone cold and you could send NC State was gaining some momentum.

I think the impressive thing was that Purdue found a different way to win. NC State only sent Edey to the line once. Purdue turned the ball over 16 times. Braden Smith only got 3 points.

But the Boilers won this game on the defensive side. DJ Horne was spectacular, scoring 21 points. But they really caused DJ Burns trouble when he only got 8 points – and the other 3 starters could only score 5 more points. The Wolfpack only were able to shoot 36.8% from the field (and only 26.3% from three-point range).

It was encouraging that one of Purdue’s stars could have a rough game, they had a ton of turnovers, and yet, they still found a way to win with defense. The Boilermakers are heading to the NCAA Championship game!!!!! And the Lunatic is so very happy!!!!