Basketball Beat #97: Purdue Beaten by UConn, Zach Edey's Boilermaker Finale, and A Redemptive Season

A sour ending doesn't make the season any less sweet.

The NCAA National Title game saw our Boilermakers handled on the perimeter by UConn's wings, as the Huskies limited Purdue to only 7 three pointers attempted, all while Zach Edey got whatever he wanted inside on Donovan Clingan (by Dan Hurley's design). But Purdue won the most games in its basketball history, Edey swept every National Player of the Year award for the second straight year (the first time in over 50 years, since Bill Walton at UCLA), Matt Painter and a roster that almost entirely returned completed a redemptive season a year after the FDU loss (arguably the worst loss in March Madness history).

And, oh yeah, our Purdue Boilermakers made the Final Four for the first time since 1980, and won a National Semifinal game for the first time since 1969.

By all measures, this could have been the greatest season in Purdue basketball's history, led by possibly Purdue's greatest player in its history, led by possibly Purdue's greatest coach in its history. Let's enjoy it all, without worrying about what anyone else says.