Purdue and N.C. State will play once again, the second time in 8 months.
Just under eight months ago, Purdue and North Carolina State squared off in the final four. Purdue would win that game, cementing themselves into the 2024 National Championship Game.
In a game about the hype of Zach Edey vs. D.J. Burns, Purdue won 63 to 50, limiting the March Madness Darling to 8 points and 1 rebound, whereas Zach Edey had another 20 and 12 performances.
Fast Forward to Thanksgiving, and these two teams will face off in maybe one of the lesser-known invitationals for “Feast Week”.
Of course, there is the Maui Invite, the Battle 4 Atlantis, there is even a new one that gives each team 1 million towards their school’s NIL.
But, for Purdue, North Carolina State, BYU and Ole Miss, they chose the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego, California.
Rady Children’s Hospital is one of the largest Pediatric Hospitals on the West Coast and is ranked as a top 10 Pediatric hospital in the entire nation, similar to the Riley Children’s Hospital that most Indiana Natives are familiar with.
From their web page, this is their “Why”:
“At Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego, keeping kids healthy is just as important as healing them from illness and injury. And what better way for young people to stay in the game than with sports and exercise? Like many sports, playing basketball is an excellent and family-friendly way for kids to improve their physical and mental health. Whether it’s shooting hoops in the driveway, joining a pickup game at the neighborhood court, or watching athletes compete at the most elite levels of the game, basketball brings families together.
Rady Children’s is proud to support college basketball and inspire today’s kids to engage in movement that develops character, encourages teamwork, and builds perseverance. Teaming up with Sports San Diego to bring this tournament to life in America’s Finest City just made perfect sense.”
I love that Purdue is taking part in this Holiday tournament, where they are looking to raise money to help the Children of the United States.
While Zach Edey and D.J. Burns have moved on, there are still familiar faces from that final-four matchup in April.
Jayden Taylor is the Wolfpack’s leading scorer currently. The Senior made his way to NC State after playing two years at Butler. Taylor is an Indianapolis Native, as he played at Perry Meridian High School.
Taylor is scoring 13.8 points per game, he loves to get into the paint and score, as he is only a 20% three-point shooter on the year.
New to the Wolfpack this year is Marcus Hill, who scores 13.2 points per game. He transferred there this summer from Bowling Green State University. At BGSU he averaged over 20 points per game and can really fill it up when he gets hot.
Point Guard, Micahel O’Connell is back and will be a thorn in the side tomorrow, as he is a nosy defender and distributes the ball well for NC State.
Overall, it is another good early test for Purdue, add this to this list of solid non-conference opponents Purdue has faced thus far and they are building quite the resume and reputation from not running from competition during this portion of the year.
It should be a good one tomorrow afternoon, right after that afternoon nap, before the evening dinner on Thanksgiving Day.