WEST LAFAYETTE — Vincent Edwards, Purdue forward and organizational leadership major, turned philosopher.
“Life is about opportunities; it’s what you do with them,” the 6-foor-8 junior said.
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Even as he played two of the best games of his career in Purdue’s previous two NCAA Tournament appearances, he rued missed opportunities in painful losses to Cincinnati in 2015 and Little Rock last season.
But Edwards used them as sources of motivation.
He has continued to shine under the Tournament spotlight. And this time, the Boilermakers have won two games.
As fourth-seeded Purdue (27-7) prepared to play top-seeded Kansas (30-4) in the Sweet 16, Edwards was understandably ebullient.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said.
“We put so much into this. Guys before us showed us the way when we first got here, so we knew what we were coming into, we knew the work we had to put in. And guys have done nothing but put in the work. To finally be able to pull these games out, to get to this stage, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
The Midwest Region semifinal between the Boilermakers and Jayhawks is scheduled to tip off at approximately 8:39 p.m. Thursday on CBS.
Purdue has not reached the Elite Eight since 2000. The Boilermakers already have made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010, with Edwards having been instrumental in that breakthrough.
He had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against Iowa State. Two of his four career double-doubles have come in the NCAA Tournament.
His performance against the Cyclones followed Purdue’s game against Vermont in which he had 21 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“It’s more just playing harder,” Edwards said. “I’m not really worried about mistakes, turning the ball over or missing a shot.
“I just try to keep playing and keep doing what I’m doing. If more comes, more comes. Of course, what player or competitor wouldn’t want that? I’m just trying to play my hardest, not trying to have any letups.”
Edwards came off the bench for eight straight games — all seven in December and the first in January — before returning to the starting lineup. He had started all 35 games last season.
“Even good players go through rough stretches and you can’t let those ruts define who you are,” Edwards said. “You have to be able to play through anything and keep moving. My teammates and coaches do a great job keeping me level-headed, keeping me going, telling me what I need to do, what they see I’m not doing right. They keep me motivated.”
Junior center Isaac Haas has noticed Edwards’ contributions.
“He’s being simple, being aggressive,” Haas said. “When he stays like that, we’re a really good team. When he produces in these big games, it’s huge.”
Edwards is no stranger to such production.
He had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists against Cincinnati as a freshman. He had 24 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Little Rock last season.
In four NCAA Tournament games, Edwards has averaged 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
He’s averaging 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists this season.
Edwards and East Chicago Central graduate E’Twaun Moore are the only Purdue players with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists. And the extent of the versatile Edwards’ skill set seems to emerge come Tournament time.
“He just does so many things well — guard, score, make post passes, rebound,” Crown Point graduate Spike Albrecht said.
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“He’s just playing and not thinking too much. He’s been playing at another level lately.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff