Purdue is a good team with an outstanding 7' 4" center and a pair of Freshman guards that had an outstanding game. One they got the lead in the first half, the Zags could never get it back.
From the Associated Press:
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PORTLAND โ Zach Edey scored 15 of his 23 points in the final 15 minutes, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer each added 14, and the No. 24 Purdue menโs basketball team beat No. 6 Gonzaga 84-66 on Friday night in the semifinals of the eightteam Phil Knight Legacy tournament. Purdueโs 7-foot-4 center took over for stretches of the second half, but he had a good supporting cast. Purdue (5-0) shot 57% in the second half, made 6 of 11 three-point attempts and outrebounded the Zags 46-31. And Purdue had an answer for every run Gonzaga (4-2) tried to make. Purdue will play Duke in the championship game on Sunday, while the Zags will face Xavier in the third-place game. Drew Timme led Gonzaga with 22 points and nine rebounds in his highly anticipated matchup with Edey. Nolan Hickman added 15 but the rest of Gonzagaโs players were mostly absent at the offensive end. โข In a late Thursday game, Malachi Smith led six players in double figures with a season-high 23 points and Gonzaga used a big first half to beat Portland State 102-78 in the opening round of the tournament.
