DETROIT, MI — Top-seeded Purdue beat fifth-seeded Gonzaga in the Midwest Regional Semifinals in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Friday.
 
Four Boilermakers finished in double-digit scoring. Zach Edey had a game-high 27 points with 14 rebounds. Braden Smith finished with 14 points, 15 assists, and eight rebounds.
 
Smith finished two assists shy of joining Joe Barry Carroll — who played on Purdue's last Final Four squad — as the program's second player to record a triple-double. Smith made two of Purdue's seven 3-pointers in the first half.
 
"It's pick your poison," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "They shot it great from 3, and then in the second half, we shut down that area pretty good. Then, Edey was just a load."
 
Graham Ike had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Nolan Hickman added 16 points, while Anton Watson had finished with 14. Ryan Nembhard scored 14 points and dished out seven assists.
 
Gonzaga finished 49.2 percent from the field, including 6-of-19 from behind-the-arc.
 
Edey finished the evening 10 for 15 from the floor and 7 for 10 from the line. He drew nine fouls, seven more than anyone else on his team. He didn't have a block but made things difficult on Gonzaga from his low spot in Purdue's zone — altering no fewer than a half-dozen shots in the second half.
 
On Sunday, Purdue, which last year became history's second first-round loser as a No. 1 seed, will play Tennessee. A win there would land the program in the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
 
GOOD FINISH
Few said the loss couldn't obscure Gonzaga's strong finish to the season. After fearing they might miss the tournament altogether, the Zags won 16 of their last 19.
 
"They doubled down, and they showed their real character and competed and then got even closer instead of pulling apart," Few said.