Final Four bound: One year after the FDU debacle, the single-minded Boilers, led by Zach Edey, are headed to the Final Four

Can't win the big one? Purdue just did it, winning the Midwest Regional over Tennessee, vanquishing 44 years of frustration and heartache. It's Purdue's time. Now.

DETROIT – Zach Edey didn’t need a ladder to cut down his portion of the Midwest Regional net Sunday, standing flat-footed and cutting off two pieces of fabric before gifting one to Hall Fame coach Gene Keady. But, then, none of the Boilers really needed a ladder; they could have levitated, the joy abundant as Purdue, embarrassing first-round losers in last year’s NCAA Tournament, outlasted gritty Tennessee 72-66 and sent Matt Painter and his crew to the school’s first Final Four appearance since 1980.

It's Virginia 2019 all over again, which is what makes this such a compelling and inspiring (and even instructive) story. We all know what happened a year ago, the emotional pain it wrought, the way it fed into the Purdue/Matt Painter narrative. Just as those Cavaliers bonded together and won a year after becoming the first-ever No. 1-seed victim to a 16-seed, here come the Boilers on a redemption run, winning the first three games by 79 points, then out-lasting and pounding down a game Tennessee team.

The only turnover of any import came after the game, when guard Fletcher Loyer placed the “Purdue” placard on the bracket line reserved for the Regional champion.

He placed it with gusto, slammed that sucker on there.

But it was upside down.

In Boilers Nation, though, all is right-side up and life is beautiful. So many times they’ve tried to reach the Final Four, all those Sweet Sixteens, a couple of Elite Eight’s, and it just wouldn’t happen for 44 years. It was always something, bad luck, a lousy matchup, a pre- or in-tournament injury that derailed the Boilers. Sunday, it all came together, wrapped up in a beautiful bow.

This is for Painter, one of the most decent and upstanding men in college basketball, a sport where too many coaches lose their souls in an eternal effort to win at all costs. Make no mistake: A lot of people in the coaching world are rooting for Painter, just as they rooted for Virginia’s Tony Bennett in 2019.