Edey, 'the best Purdue player,' closes without championship - ESPN

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As he left the floor for the last time in his collegiate career after his team's 75-60 loss to UConn in the national title game on Monday night, Zach Edey stared ahead, walked down the stairs and disappeared into the tunnel.

In the end, Edey couldn't carry Purdue.

Not that far. Not past a modern legend. Not over a force of nature that beat every opponent in the NCAA tournament by double digits during its second consecutive national title run, this one even more dominant than the last.

Twenty years from now, UConn's historic effort will still overshadow Edey's individual achievements. The 7-foot-4, 290-pound center will soon collect his second Wooden Award, a feat that only former Virginia center Ralph Sampson Jr. has matched. The Huskies? They outscored their opponents by 140 points in the NCAA tournament. Their 23.3 point-per-game margin of victory is the greatest mark of all-time, per ESPN Stats & Information research.

But Edey, who finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds on Monday while matched against projected lottery pick Donovan Clingan, will leave college as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, despite the loss.

«When you look at his numbers against the greats, there is no question he's in the conversation,» coach Matt Painter said. «But he's also the winningest player at Purdue. We won our league in back-to-back years (2023, 2024) by multiple games. It's the first time that's happened in the Big Ten since I was in kindergarten. We got to the (national) championship game after having a disappointing loss (in last year's NCAA tournament). He got to a Sweet 16. He went to four (NCAA) tournaments. I think that's always what kind of separates everybody.»

In front of Edey's locker