Drew Brees celebrates during Purdue victory over NC State in Final Four

It’s the first time the Boilermakers have been in the Final Four since 1980. And they’ll get a chance for their first national championship in program history on Monday night. So, it’s not surprising to see legends like Brees in the house for it. He made his own history during his time in West Lafayette, shattering 19 school records on his way to throwing for 11,792 yards and 90 touchdowns.

Purdue didn’t particularly struggle with NC State, but both teams struggled to hit shots during certain stretches. The Boilermakers still made an impressive run late in the second half to ensure they wouldn’t have to be sweating out the results of the game.

The Wolfpack did an excellent job on Zach Edey, but he still found a way to stuff the stat sheet with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. It’s been a historic run for the Boilermakers, and they’ve been carried by a historic player. There’s a reason he became the first player to win back-to-back AP National Player of the Year since 1983 (Ralph Sampson of Virginia).

Purdue will face the UConn Huskies in the 2024 National Championship on Monday night. That one will be nationally televised. UConn has looked like one of the more dominant teams in college basketball history at times. But they were pushed by a very impressive effort from the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. It wasn’t easy, but the Huskies pulled away in the final minutes.

The Boilermakers are still trying to write the final chapter of one of the greatest redemption stories in NCAA history. In last year’s tourney, they became just the second No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed, 63-58. They’ve used that game as fuel to propel them all the way to the cusp of a national championship. They’re trying to follow the same path of the Virginia Cavaliers, who lost to 16 seed UMBC in 2018, then won the 2019 National Championship.