Purdue's Zach Edey spent the first 17 games of this season establishing himself as the far-and-away leader to eventually be named the CBS Sports National Player of the Year. On Monday, the 7-foot-4 center further enhanced his candidacy by taking 26 shots, making 13 of them and finishing with 32 points and 17 rebounds in the Boilermakers' 64-63 win at Michigan State.
Yes, Edey literally scored half of Purdue's points, including the final two with 2.0 seconds remaining that turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead and proved to be the game-winner. He is now averaging a Big Ten-best 21.9 points, a Big Ten-best 13.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 31.5 minutes per game.
"He opens up a lot for us," said Purdue coach Matt Painter.
Indeed, he does.
Edey's incredible play is the main reason Purdue is 17-1 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten and on a four-game winning streak heading into Thursday's game at Minnesota. For what it's worth, KenPom.com now projects the Boilermakers to be favorites in every remaining game between now and Selection Sunday -- and to ultimately win the Big Ten regular-season championship by three games. If it goes down that way, it would represent the fourth Big Ten regular-season championship of Painter's career. He also won the league title in 2010, 2017 and 2019.
Purdue remains No. 2 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings while Houston is No. 1 for the 15th consecutive morning. Kelvin Sampson's Cougars are scheduled to play Tuesday night at Tulane, where they are listed as 11-point favorites.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 31 points and four assists in Wednesday's 83-77 win over USF. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday at Tulane. | -- | 33-4 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds in Monday's 64-63 win at Michigan State. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday at Minnesota. | -- | 29-6 |
| 3 |  | Gradey Dick finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 62-60 win over Iowa State. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Kansas State. | -- | 28-8 |
| 4 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 31 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 106-66 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 31-6 |
| 5 |  | Drew Timme finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 115-75 win over Portland. The Zags' next game is Thursday against Loyola Marymount. | -- | 31-5 |
| 6 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 68-54 win over Colorado. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Arizona State. | -- | 31-6 |
| 7 |  | Souley Boum finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 80-76 win over Marquette. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday at DePaul. | -- | 27-10 |
| 8 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 72-70 win over Texas Tech. The Longhorns' next game is Tuesday at Iowa State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 9 |  | Emanuel Miller finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 82-68 win over Kansas State. The Horned Frogs' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | -- | 22-13 |
| 10 |  | Kansas State missed 15 of the 21 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 82-68 loss at TCU. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 26-9 |
| 11 |  | Tennessee missed 18 of the 21 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 63-56 loss to Kentucky. The Vols' next game is Tuesday at Mississippi State. | -- | 25-11 |
| 12 |  | Iowa State's Caleb Grill missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 62-60 loss at Kansas. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against Texas. | -- | 19-14 |
| 13 |  | Armaan Franklin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 67-58 win at Florida State. The Cavaliers' next game is Wednesday against Virginia Tech. | -- | 25-8 |
| 14 |  | Arizona allowed the Ducks to shoot 53.1% from the field in Saturday's 87-68 loss at Oregon. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against USC. | -- | 28-7 |
| 15 |  | UConn allowed St. John's to shoot 51.7% from the field in Sunday's 85-74 loss to the Red Storm. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Seton Hall. | -- | 28-8 |
| 16 |  | Marquette missed 18 of the 24 3-pointers it attempted in Sunday's 80-76 loss at Xavier. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against Providence. | -- | 29-7 |
| 17 |  | LJ Cryer finished 16 points and two assists in Saturday's 74-58 win over Oklahoma State. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Texas Tech. | -- | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Terquavian Smith finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 83-81 overtime win over Miami. The Wolfpacks' next game is Tuesday at Georgia Tech. | -- | 23-11 |
| 19 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds in Monday's 82-78 win over Syracuse. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday at Duke. | -- | 28-7 |
| 20 |  | Providence missed 15 of the 19 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 73-67 loss at Creighton. The Friars' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | -- | 21-12 |
| 21 |  | Nicholas Boyd finished with 16 points and four assists in Monday's 76-62 win at Western Kentucky. The Owls' next game is Thursday at UTSA. | -- | 34-3 |
| 22 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 69-63 win over Mississippi State. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | -- | 21-13 |
| 23 |  | Matthew Mayer finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 78-60 win at Minnesota. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Indiana. | -- | 20-13 |
| 24 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-61 win at San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Pepperdine. | -- | 27-8 |
| 25 |  | PJ Hall finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 72-64 win over Duke. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | -- | 23-11 |
| 26 |  | Duke missed 17 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 72-64 loss at Clemson. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 27-9 |
