5 reasons why Zach Edey won't be able to win the NCAA Championship with Purdue

For Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers, this season should be one of redemption.

That`s because the team has been basically a poster child for early tournament exits despite being extremely high-seeded. As such, the towering slotman out of Toronto and his team has a lot of things to prove and fix come tournament time.

Let's have a look at five reasons why Zach Edey might not win the NCAA Championship with Purdue:

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#1 Zach Edey`s playstyle is just too antiquated

There`s a reason why the seven-foot-four center, who`s basically the most dominant player in college basketball, is not considered a high draft pick.

He's perhaps "too old school" for the modern game. If Edey was born earlier and played in the 70s, 80s or even 90s, he could be making NBA scouts drool and March Madness opponents shake in their kicks in fear.

However, this is 2024. It`s an era where mobile, sweet-shooting big men who can put the ball on the floor and move like guards or wings are the norm. For someone like Edey who plays a back-to-the-basket game, crafting a defensive strategy around him is fairly easy.

#2 Purdue has too many demons

It`s easy to just base a team`s potential success in March Madness on numbers alone.

However, one should also never count out how powerful mind games are, especially during the NCAA Tournament, where anything can happen. That said, Purdue`s ghosts of postseasons past will once again come to haunt them, and it won`t matter how experienced they`ve been.

Having been eliminated early during the last three years (and having the dubious honor of only being the second team in NCAAM history to lose to a 16-seed), Purdue needs to play with massive chips on their shoulders.

#3 The Boilermakers can`t defend consistently

One can argue that Purdue`s defense is just sub-par for a team that`s ranked third in the nation.

They`re just eighth in the Big Ten in terms of points allowed and fifth in opponent FG%. Furthermore, a team that has a hefty rim protector in Zach Edey is barely in the top 10 of their conference in terms of blocks as well.

#4 Edey is a walking matchup nightmare on defense

In Purdue`s losses throughout the season, multiple teams have been able to prey on Zach Edey on switches during pick-and-rolls on the perimeter.

His immense height means he lacks mobility to keep up with the way faster wings and guards outside, and sometimes even centers. Quicker, blitzier teams like Ohio State have been seen taking advantage of this multiple times.

For the Buckeyes specifically, they upset the Boilermakers just by taking advantage of this weakness time and time again.

#5 Terrible free throw shooting

With just how many free throws someone like Zach Edey attempt during a game, Purdue should take advantage of that and score easy points with the clock stopped. But that hasn`t happened, with the team just shooting 72.1% from the line for the year.

Zach Edey shoots over 11 free throws on average per game and only makes just above 71% of them. For someone who gets fouled that much, those should be easy money, but they aren`t.

Edey isn`t Shaq, but he can come close, more so in the big moments when he could need every single point he could earn from the line.