Welp. NC State’s Cinderella run is over. The highly anticipated big man duel between the Wolfpack’s DJ Burns and National Player of the Year Zach Edey went decidedly in the Purdue star’s favor. It was a snoozer of a bad game to tip off the Final Four in Glendale.
To give you an idea of what an eyesore this contest was, the Boilermakers coughed up 16 turnovers, yet still managed to win by 13 points. Woof.
Edey continued to lumber his way into the record books with his boring brand of basketball. Hate on it all you want, but he is having an all-time great run through this NCAA Tournament.
Like, cool I guess? Edey certainly doesn’t generate anything close to the excitement of, say, Caitlin Clark. I can respect it.
What Edey does have working in his favor is a freakishly tall 7-foot-4 frame that can make for some high comedy at times. Case in point: His postgame interview with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, who stands at a mighty 5-foot-2. The height disparity was on full display and possibly amplified by some deft camerawork.
Lead announcer Ian Eagle couldn’t help but comment on the situation as he was probably laughing on a muted headset throughout the Edey-Wolfson exchange.
Woflson’s head might not have even reached the “Purdue” print on Edey’s jersey. Other probably slap-happy viewers who had to be captive witnesses to this Purdue-NC State slugfest took notice of the comical scene as well.
Yep. That’s all I got from this game. It was a rough watch. NC State shot 36.8% from the field. Burns was a relative non-factor as a scorer with eight points. Not great, Bob.
Looking forward to see if Wolfson has a response to this on social media. That’d be fun. More fun than the game. OK sorry to dwell on it so much. I’m a little sad about NC State. DJ Burns is the man. Hopefully he does get that shot in the NFL as an offensive tackle if an NBA future isn’t in the cards. Don’t think he helped himself today whilst matched up versus Edey.
Presuming UConn wins on Saturday night as double-digit favorites against Alabama, Huskies center Donovan Clingan is the only man standing in Edey’s way of a national championship. Not only could Clingan boost his NBA Draft stock in what should be an awful 2024 draft by containing Edey, but his performance will go a long way in determining whether UConn emerges as back-to-back natty champs.
Save us, Donovan. SAVE US!!
Anyway, here’s a less lopsided postgame exchange between Shaq and Edey to play you out. Some big on big love.
