Purdue's Lance Jones shows in Final Four why he is missing piece in team's run to title game

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Purdue guard Lance Jones has worked his entire life for this moment. 

“It’s about trusting my work and just letting it fly,” Jones said on Saturday after Purdue’s 63-50 win over North Carolina State in the Final Four at State Fair Stadium. “My teammates have confidence in me, so that makes me have confidence in myself… We have a lot of confidence right now.”

Purdue will now play in the NCAA Tournament national championship game on Monday, one year after being upset by a No. 16 seed in the first round. When asked about the difference between last year's team and this year's squad, head coach Matt Painter said "we’ve added some pieces.” One key addition was Jones.  

Jones went 4-of-9 from the 3-point line in the win. He finished with 14 points, four rebounds and one steal and was the team’s second-leading scorer behind star center Zach Edey (20 points). Purdue is 15-0 this season when Jones scores 14 or more points, a fact that highlights his importance to the team.

FINAL FOUR:Edey powers Purdue past North Carolina State to reach title game

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“Lance Jones is a piece that’s really helped us,” Painter said of the fifth-year player, who became a starter on the Boilermakers this season after four seasons at Southern Illinois. “I thought his defense tonight on DJ Horne was really good. The moment wasn’t too big for him. He took shots that were there for him. (He was) able to knock them down.”

Jones missed his first 3-point attempt of the night to open the game, but knocked down his next to extend Purdue’s lead to 12-4 in the first five minutes. Braden Smith retrieved an offensive rebound after his shot was blocked and kicked it out to Jones, who was ready. His last three of the night put the Boilmakers up double-digits with 12:43 left in the game. 

“I think that confidence shooting just comes from the work that I put in,” said Jones, who leads the team with 80 3-pointers. “It’s about repetition… We get in the gym extra, we shoot after bad games, after good games. The work stays the same. We don’t want to shy from moments like this. We worked our whole lives to be in this position."

Jones said his main goal in coming to Purdue was "to be a great teammate.” He said he was prepared to become a role player after entering the transfer portal, but wanted to bring "a different kind of mojo" and "a different type of edge" to the team. "I think it’s rubbed off on these guys," Jones added.

“I kind of just want to be that person that does whatever is necessary. I want to bring my defensive edge,” Jones said. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I entered the portal to go from mid-major to high major. I knew when Purdue reached out, I knew they had the pieces. I knew what I was getting myself into and that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.”

The sacrifice was worth it. Purdue is one game from the its first national championship, one year removed from the sting of suffering one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.  The last step will be defending national champion Connecticut, which is one win from being the first team to repeat since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

“I knew we had a chance to win and make a run in March Madness and have a good chance of winning the Big 10 but never to this magnitude,” Jones said. “It’s something I will never take for granted.”