Purdue can breathe again in March.

It can relax. It can smile. It can feel relief. Finally, after more 40 years of torturous near-misses in the NCAA Tournament, the Boilermakers are headed back to the Final Four for the first time since 1980 and the 3rd time in the program’s history. It’s almost surreal.

But the story is real. Purdue bashed its way into the national semifinals in a tournament classic, getting a Herculean performance from Zach Edey, who scored a career-high 40 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and had a game-saving block late; getting a key 3-pointer from Lance Jones, whose shot provided one of the game’s (and program’s) most memorable moments; and getting a coaching effort from Matt Painter that helped Purdue come back, then hold off Tennessee in a 72-66 win Sunday evening.

In doing so, the Boilermakers vanquished the demons of the past 40 years. Purdue fans know all the tournament misses, with the most recent providing the most heartache.

Why? As the years went by, from Gene Keady’s Three Amigos squads in the mid-80s, to Glenn Robinson’s run a decade later, to the 4-point Elite Eight loss to Wisconsin in 2000, to the shortcomings during the Painter Era, it increasingly felt like tournament fate had it out for Purdue. Boilermakers fans can recite exactly where they were when Robbie Hummel tore his ACL at Minnesota in 2010, then did so again 8 months later, when most were at the football’s team’s game vs. the Golden Gophers in Ross-Ade Stadium.

The 2019 Elite 8 game vs. Virginia is still hard to willingly recall, because of the absurdity of the Cavaliers’ comeback, when they turned a backcourt tap into a game-tying 10-foot floater in less than 3 seconds, then won in overtime. Isaac Haas’ 1st-round elbow injury came the year before, nuking the Boilermakers’ chance at a long tourney run. After those disappointments, Purdue suffered through the recent run of 3 straight tournament exits to double-digit seeds: North Texas, Saint Peter’s and Fairleigh Dickinson. After the FDU game last season, when Purdue became only the 2nd 1-seed to lose to a 16, the Final Four felt as far away as ever.

But here we are. Going crazy.

This one belongs to Edey, Painter and Jones, who has been a Boilermakers only this season after his transfer from Southern Illinois but has endeared himself to Purdue fans with his humility, his smile and his shot-making. It belongs to Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, and Mason Gillis and Trey Kaufman-Renn. It belongs to others, as well, like Ethan Morton and Caleb Furst, former starters on the Boilermakers’ squad a year ago who have sacrificed playing time this season to help Purdue become a more complete team.

But it also belongs to those in the past, players like Hummel, who tore up his knee twice trying to get the Boilermakers into the Final Four. He was on the Westwood One national radio call Sunday, surely staying professional during the broadcast, before letting down his guard and letting out a tear after the buzzer sounded. Players like Rapheal Davis, the current BTN analyst who led Purdue out of the cellar after it had finished in dead last in the Big Ten a decade ago. And The Big Dog, who nearly got Purdue to the Final Four in ’94 and might have, had it not been for a back injury.

Although it’s from a distance, Robinson remains a big part of the program, particularly with son Gicarri Harris becoming a Boilermaker next season. Give a nod to Keady, too. After cutting a piece of the net after the Midwest Region win, Edey handed a portion of it to the 87-year-old Hall of Fame coach. What a moment.

Purdue can thank Edey, the 2-time All-American and national player-of-the-year. His performance in the win over the Volunteers was otherworldly, scoring a career high in points while controlling the glass and being a disruptive presence on the defensive end. It’s there that he might have made the game’s biggest play, when he knocked away Dalton Knecht’s layup to preserve a 5-point lead with 35 seconds left. Very few — ever — have dominated the way Edey has during this tournament. The 7-4 center — he’s more than “just tall,” people; don’t be ridiculous with those nonsense takes — has 120 points and 65 rebounds in 4 games, while shooting 65.6% from the field.

Edey will add to those numbers in Phoenix, where Purdue will likely be a favorite in the national semifinal, potentially setting up a championship game vs. UConn. It’s the matchup many want to see, with the seemingly unbeatable Huskies being challenged by what looks like the most formidable opponent in the field.

But that’s for next weekend. For now, enjoy it. Purdue did it. Finally.