THE NOTES TO KNOW
• The Midwest's top seed, Purdue, will battle the No. 2 seed and No. 6-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Sunday's Elite Eight from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Boilermakers are looking for their first Final Four appearance since 1980, while Tennessee is aiming for their first Final Four in school history.
• This marks the second straight game that Purdue will play a team in the NCAA Tournament that it faced during the regular season after defeating Gonzaga on Friday. Previously before the Gonzaga and subsequent Tennessee game, Purdue hadn't done that since 2000.
• If Purdue's path to the Final Four looks eerily familiar, it's because it is. In November, Purdue won three games at the Maui Invitational playing Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette in order. The Boilermakers defeated Gonzaga on Friday in the Sweet 16 and will face Tennessee in the Elite 8 on Sunday. Marquette lost in Friday's Sweet 16 to North Carolina State.
• Head coach Matt Painter is a big-time Chicago Cubs and hopes history repeats itself in 2024. For just the second time in Purdue history, the Boilermakers will play on the same day as the Chicago Cubs. The first occurrence came on March 28, 2019, when the Cubs defeated the Texas Rangers, 12-4, while Purdue topped Tennessee in the 2019 Sweet Sixteen, 99-94. The Cubs will play Texas again on Sunday, while the Boilermakers battle the Volunteers.
• Purdue and Tennessee have quite a history between the two teams. In 2009, Purdue topped the Vols 73-72 to win the Paradise Jam in November. The Volunteers then returned the favor with a 78-75 overtime win in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis. Purdue responded by topping the Volunteers in the 2019 Sweet 16, 99-94, in an overtime classic, before defeating Tennessee in the 2023 Maui Invitational semifinals, 71-67.
• With the win over Gonzaga on Friday, the Boilermakers won their 32nd game of the year and are now 32-4 on the season. The 32 victories are a continuing school record.
• Purdue has won its first three games in the NCAA Tournament by a combined 79 points (78-50 vs. Grambling; 106-67 vs. Utah State; 80-68 vs. Gonzaga).
• Purdue is making its second Elite Eight appearances in five seasons, last making the Regional Finals in 2019 (lost to eventual National Champion Virginia in overtime). Prior to the 2019 season, the Boilermakers last made the Elite Eight in 2000.
• Purdue improved to 9-0 this season against nationally-ranked teams. The Boilermakers are the second team in the last 15 years to play at least nine games against nationally-ranked teams without a loss (2012 Kentucky; 10-0).
• Purdue has won 20 straight non-conference, regular-season and postseason games against power-conference OR nationally-ranked teams. It equals the second-longest streak in NCAA history, and is just behind the 22 straight by UCLA from 1971 to 1974. Duke (March 1991 to Feb. 1993) and UCLA (March 1968 to Dec. 1970) also won 20 straight games.
• Purdue is 18-5 (.783) against nationally-ranked teams since the start of the 2021-22 season, easily the best record in America (Arizona; 14-7). • Since the 2020-21 season, Purdue is now 49-2 when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field. Purdue shot 57.1 percent from the field, including 60.7 percent in the second half. Purdue went 15-of-21 (.714) inside the 3-point line in the second half. Purdue’s 57.1 field goal
percentage against Gonzaga was its highest in the NCAA Tournament since 1999.
• Braden Smith recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds. The 15 assists are the third
most in a game in school history and the 10th most by any player in the NCAA Tournament. It was tied for the most assists by a Big Ten player
ever in an NCAA Tournament game (Indiana’s Keith Smart; Ohio State’s Aaron Craft).
• Braden Smith joined Indiana’s Keith Smart (March 14, 1987) and Murray State’s Ja Morant (March 21, 2019) as the only players in NCAA
Tournament history with at least 14 points, 15 assists and 8 rebounds.
• Braden Smith is the fourth player in NCAA history with at least 425 points, 270 assists and 200 rebounds in a season (UCLA’s Lonzo Ball,
BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, California’s Jason Kidd).
• Braden Smith moved into third place on the Big Ten’s single-season assists list with 271 (Cassius Winston – 291; Mateen Cleaves – 274). • Zach Edey scored 27 points with 14 rebounds and an assist. He has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in four straight NCAA Tournament
games, the second-longest stream in NCAA Tournament history (David Robinson – 5 games).
• In three NCAA Tournament games this season, Zach Edey has 80 points, 49 rebounds and six assists. Edey joins Wake Forest’s Len Chappell
(1960) and West Virginia’s Jerry West (1961) as the only players with at least 80 points, 45 rebounds and five assists in the first three
NCAA Tournament games.
• Zach Edey moved into third place on Purdue’s single-season points list with 886 points. He is now fifth on the Big Ten single-season points list. • Zach Edey now has 2,419 career points, needing 19 points to tie Indiana’s Steve Alford for fifth on the Big Ten career points list.
• Zach Edey tied Caleb Swanigan for second on Purdue’s single-season rebounds list with 436, needing two rebounds to tie the school
record he set last year (438).
• Zach Edey become the sixth player in NCAA history with at least 400 free throw attempts (402), and the first since Pete Maravich in 1970 (436). • Zach Edey become the 11th player in NCAA history with 875 points and 435 rebounds in a season – the first since Indiana State’s Larry Bird in 1979.
• Zach Edey became the fourth player in NCAA history with two seasons of at least 750 points and 425 rebounds (Elvin Hayes – 3; Rick
Barry – 2; Oscar Robertson – 2).
• Fletcher Loyer scored 10 points and is now 15-of-22 (.682) from 3-point range in the month of March.
• Purdue is now 29-of-67 (.433) from 3-point range in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue is America's top 3-point shooting team at 41.0 percent.