Purdue is one game away from redemption

In 2018, Virginia was a 20.5-point favorite over the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers, but ended up losing by nearly that amount, 74-54. 

Before that, No. 16 seeds had lost all 135 games they'd played in NCAA Tournament history.

While that was a crushing defeat, Virginia came back to win it all in 2019, defeating Texas Tech in overtime of the title game. 

That championship wouldn't have been possible without a miracle shot from Mamadi Diakite to force overtime in regulation in the Elite Eight, at the expense of the Purdue Boilermakers.

Four years later, Purdue suffered an even bigger upset at the hands of Fairleigh Dickinson, who was a 23.5-point underdog. It was the third in a string of upset losses for the Boilermakers, who lost to No. 15 Saint Peters in the Sweet 16 in 2022 and to No. 13 North Texas in the first round of the 2021 tourney. 

Arguably, they have more need of redemption than Virginia did, as the Cavaliers at least won a tournament game the year before their big upset in 2018 and reached the Elite Eight in 2016.

Can Purdue finish as strong as Virginia did? They've been winning handily through most of March Madness, defeating opponents by an average of 19.6 points. The Boilermakers' only challenge came in a 72-66 win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight.

Arguably, Purdue and its massive star, Zach Edey, have already redeemed themselves by making the final for only the second time in school history. The first time was in 1969 when the tournament only had 25 teams, and Purdue fell to UCLA in the title game. In the previous year, the Boilermakers didn't get upset in the tourney because they didn't make it.

UConn is a formidable opponent, but if Purdue gets past them for the school's first championship, it might start a trend. Drop an embarrassing game to a No. 16 seed, and then win it all a year later. 

It's a wild strategy, but Virginia had never won a national championship before its redemption year, either. If it happens for Purdue, it can thank Fairleigh Dickinson.