"Many good coaches looked over me": Purdue star Zach Edey opens up about his recruiting days as Boilermakers clinch first Final Four since 1980

Zach Edey scored a career-high 40 points as the Purdue Boilermakers advanced into the Final Four after a 72-66 win over the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday. This will be Purdue's third Final Four appearance in program history, with the last being in 1980.

The team had many reasons to celebrate, but the win was a redemption for Edey. The center's entire college career has been punctuated with his critics consistently downplaying his impact. In a post-game interview, he spoke on the faith that coach Matt Painter had in him when many didn't.

"I get to pay him (Painter). There are so many coaches that looked over me. You could name a program and I could name a coach that looked over me. At Tennessee, Rick Barnes is a great coach, but he was in a bunch of practices, looked over me," Edey said.

"It's kinda been the story of my life. People have doubted me, people looked past me and can't do that anymore."

Recently, Painter defended his star center against his critics. He said those who reduced Edey's talents to his height and questioned his impact were "moronic" and needed to educate themselves on basketball.

After a slow start, Zach Edey scores big to guide Purdue to the win

Things looked positive for Purdue as it took the lead from the first buzzer, but it switched a few minutes later. Tennessee maintained the lead until 2:32 minutes on the clock when Purdue took over and retained it into the second half.

Despite stiff competition from the Volunteers, who came close at multiple points, the Boilermakers made the night theirs.

Zach Edey took 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue's 3-point shooting was poor as it made just 3-of-15 shots.

Tennessee's efforts were led by Dalton Knecht, who scored 37 points, the only double-digit scorer on the team.

“You're not trying to take away 100 percent, you're trying to take away maybe 80 percent of what he's trying to get accomplished,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said of Knecht (h/t ESPN). “But we don't take Zach for granted. He could've scored 50 tonight if he'd made his free throws.”

Edey made just 14-of-22 attempts from the foul line. At the end of the game, Tennessee had 25 fouls, while Purdue had just 12. Vols coach Rick Barnes said:

“He’s (Zach) a difficult guy to guard against, but he’s a difficult guy for referees to officiate, too. He’s a hard guy to do that with because he’s a unique guy in terms of how he plays.”

Purdue will take on NC State on April 6 for a spot to contend for the championship.