Purdue’s 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, the two-time national Player of the Year, has moved on to the NBA. Still, Edeys presence was felt Thursday afternoon at UC San Diego’s LionTree Arena.

Several Boilermakers fans wore Edey’s No. 15 jersey for the opening game of the Rady Children’s Invitational. Included among them was a man who stood in his stocking feet as Purdue coach Matt Painter was walking off the floor folliowing the 13th-ranked Boilermakers’ 71-61 victory over North Carolina State.

The guy held a shoe in one hand and a Sharpie in the other, intent on getting Painter’s autograph. The coach obliged.

Such was the passion — or was it obsession? — Purdue fans exhibited in the Final Four rematch against N.C. State.

The shoe was an apt metaphor for the Boilermakers a year after Edey led them to the title game. Big shoes to fill and all that.

“If you can stay the same and play the same way, that’s a beautiful thing if you can just plug guys in,” Painter said. “But sometimes you cant plug guys in.”

Purdue does have another 7-4 big man on the roster, but freshman center Daniel Jacobsen watched from the bench on crutches. Jacobsen suffered a broken leg in the season’s second game.

N.C. State, which trailed by one a point, 33-32, lost this time to a smaller, “scrappier” lineup.

“You take that away from us, I don’t know if we win the game,” Painter said. “The thing that is different for us is we can miss blockout responsibilities (with Edey in the lineup) and still get rebounds because he would clean things up. …

“His piece defensively is missed. That’s been our adjustment. … But also to get those guys to feel like they don’t have to be him. Because they cant be. Hes a one-in-a-generation player.”

So they play to the strengths of guys like forwards Trey Kaufman-Renn and Camden Heide and guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.

Kaufman-Renn had a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. He totaled seven points and four rebounds last year against the Wolfpack. Heide, scoreless in the last meeting, had 15 points. Smith and Loyer also were in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Guard Jaden Taylor led N.C. State with 15 points.

North Carolina State guard Dontrez Styles attempts to block Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn during the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Day 2 matchups

Purdue (6-1) will play No. 23 Ole Miss (6-0) in Friday’s final at 3 p.m. The Rebels needed overtime for a 96-85 victory over BYU in the tournaments second game.

BYU (5-1) meets North Carolina State (5-1) in the third-place game at 12:30 p.m. Both games will be televised by Fox.

Ole Miss trailed BYU 42-39 at halftime and led by as many seven points midway through the second half, then watched the Cougars regain the lead 75-71 with 2:21 remaining on a late 10-2 run.

Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray led all scorers with a career-high 28 points. Murrays layup with 26 seconds remaining made it 77-77 to force overtime. Nine of his points came in OT. Teammates Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis scored 18 points apiece for the Rebels.

Forward Kanon Catchings had 17 points for BYU. Egor Demin and Richie Saunders added 16 each for the Cougars.

Economic impact

When tournament organizers first proposed the event, they estimated it would generate 1,500 hotel room nights for the community.

Zip codes from ticket purchases for last years inaugural event showed that 28 percent of those buying tickets were from outside the county. There were 3,000 room nights generated, as it turned out.

This year, 63% of ticket purchases were from outside the county, so room nights are likely to double. How much additional economic impact comes from the event remains to be seen.

With BYU in the field, we are reminded of something Hall of Fame Cougars football coach LaVell Edwards mentioned when bringing the team to San Diego for one of its 11 Holiday Bowl appearances. Said Edwards of BYU fans: “They’ll bring the Ten Commandments and a $10 bill, and they won’t break either of them.

Sign of the times

Davis, who started at guard for Ole Miss, drew a game-high nine fouls. He went to the line for 14 free throws, making 10 of them.

Murray was a familiar face here even if he stepped to the line. He was an all-tournament selection at last years Rady Childrens Invitational — for Seton Hall.

Training day

Purdue fan Avery Miller was standing outside LionTree Arena before the game waiting for the doors to open when a smart aleck walked up and said, “Do you know there’s a train on your head?”

“I do,” Avery said, explaining that it’s “just being part of the team.”

Purdue fan Avery Miller, center, sports Boilermaker gear during the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Purdue fans comprised perhaps 90% of the crowd in the opener, taking advantage of the team’s rare West Coast visit.

There were young fans in the stands dressed in black and gold striped overalls.

Courtside seating included four guys dressed in matching outfits with white, black and gold diamonds.

A few seats away was a guy wearing a sparkling gold sequin jacket with tails that looked like it was picked up at a Ringling Bros. bankruptcy auction.

Purdue fans heckle North Carolina State guard Michael OConnell during the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

And, of course, there was a youngster wearing a train hat.

“We do feel bad for whoevers sitting behind us,” said Kristin Miller, Avery’s mom.

Actually, the Millers, visiting from Boulder, Colo., were quite courteous, resting the foam locomotive in their laps during the game.

“Obviously, we don’t get to see many Purdue games in Colorado so this is really cool,” Kristin said.

She was also nice enough to explain the school’s nickname, which derives from its history of railroads and steam engines.

“Boilermakers were tough guys, burly guys, who built the trains coming down from Monon (Indiana) to West Lafayette ” Kristin said.

Legend has it that Purdue recruited these “burly” guys for the football team in the 1890s.

Added Kristin: “I think (the nickname) still embodies the boilermaker spirit of tough and playing really hard and playing with heart.”