Purdue didn't beat Alabama in Toronto, Ontario just because of Zach Edey.

Purdue beat Alabama in Toronto, Ontario just because of Zach Edey.

Understand?

Zach Edey has never really played meaningful minutes in Toronto even though he was born there. It's his city, and Canada is his country. He's proud of it.

But growing up, Edey loved hockey and baseball, and it wasn't until high school that the growing kid reluctantly moved towards basketball. By the time he was learning to dribble, he had stubble on his face, and it was time for him to move to the US where his future basketball career would be.

A few AAU games happened in Toronto, but for the crowd of converted and traveling Boilermaker fans, for his friends and family, this was the first time a lot of them saw Zach Edey playing on Canadian soil.

"I think a lot of my friends and family haven't seen me play, period," he said after the game to media who also all came just for Zach Edey.

"I'm very grateful Purdue scheduled this for me," Edey would go on to say.

And that's the truth. Purdue scheduled this game for Zach Edey. Purdue is where it's at: three straight years at #1, currently in the top-4, favorites in March, 9-1 on the season, and coming off a victory against an Alabama team that knocked down 19 threes in Canada because of Zach Edey and Edey alone.

It's not that Edey doesn't have help. Purdue is a legitimately ten deep roster with stars breaking out around him. Braden Smith just had his best game as a Boiler, scoring 27 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists while turning the ball over just once in 37 minutes.

But tonight wasn't about Braden Smith or true freshman Myles Colvin scoring 5 big bench points or senior Ethan Morton having a +17 in 12 minutes of action. Those guys are reasons why Purdue has a chance to repeat in the Big Ten.

Zach Edey is the reason Purdue basketball has a new horizon.

Purdue has had big guys before. But Edey isn't just big - he's era-defining. He's program-changing. His relentlessness, his physicality, his improvement, its moved Purdue from a good story to a story about greatness.

Edey is college basketball's best player for the second year running, and that's selling him short.