Zach Edey makes more Purdue basketball history
MINNEAPOLIS (WISH) — It was not the result the Purdue University men’s basketball team wanted on Saturday.
The No. 1-seeded Boilermakers fell 76-75 in overtime to No. 5-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The loss means Purdue will not advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game, something the program was able to do the past two seasons.
Despite the loss though, Purdue center Zach Edey made history, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Purdue sophomore guard Braden Smith. “We’re all super proud of him. He’s worked his butt off to get here in the first place. He’s a great teammate.”
Edey’s history-making basket came in the second half with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. The two-point shot gave him a two-point advantage over the program’s previous all-time leading scorer, Rick Mount.
“The thing here is, at the end of the day, he won’t take credit for himself,” Smith said. “He’ll always point to us and say he got here because of us and we were helping him. Awesome accomplishment for him.”
Edey entered the game needing 13 points to break the record. He ended up scoring 28 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of action.
Edey now has 2,339 career points at Purdue. Here is the new top five list of Purdue’s all-time leading scorers:
- Zach Edey – 2,339 points
- Rick Mount – 2,323 points
- Joe Barry Carroll – 2,175 points
- E’Twaun Moore – 2,136 points
- Dave Schellhase – 2,074 points
“Being the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at a school like Purdue with a great basketball tradition is really unbelievable,” said Purdue head coach Matt Painter. “You look at both of those awards with Joe Barry Carroll and Rick Mount, who are just legends at Purdue, and for him to be able to do that and be humble.”
The Boilermakers will now await their NCAA Tournament seed. They’ll find out on Selection Sunday, although most experts still have them as a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.