This Purdue team has shown in can beat you in many ways. Even ugly, like vs. NC State.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Matt Painter dug deep into his back pocket for this one.

It looked more like the throwback Purdue basketball teams that tried to beat you down with defense and score just enough to win.

This team, though, is a good — not great — defensive team with an all-time offense, ranking second in the country in offensive efficiency, just the end of a fingernail from being first.

Doyel: For Braden Smith, his game was ugly. What happened in Purdue locker room was beautiful.

In the biggest game of the lives of pretty much all involved, Purdue's offense wasn't elite. It wasn't even very good.

So Purdue, plagued by 16 turnovers and without its usual heavy dose of free throws, reverted to those old defensive slobber-knocker Boiler squads and made life miserable for the Wolfpack.

"We have a lot of really, really, really good offensive players and sometimes it's just not your night," Purdue assistant coach PJ Thompson said. "But a great team, sometimes their defense can pick it up and win the game for us."

This Purdue team is noted as one that wins with Zach Edey's dominance, Braden Smith's do-it-all approach and by owning the rebounding and free throw differential.

Edey was marginal for most of the second half, at least by National Player of the Year standards.

Smith played perhaps the worst half of basketball in his life, going 0-for-6 with five turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Edey drew just three fouls and shot two free throws and Purdue was 9-of-10 as a team from the charity stripe. Purdue, averaging 84 points per game, was held to a season low 63.

Everything that had to go North Carolina State's way for the Wolfpack to have a chance to play Cinderella one more time did.

Look up at the massive video board beyond what would be an end zone under normal stadium circumstances and Purdue is leading by 20 with three minutes to go.

Despite all those offensive anomalies.

"We've all been through every moment together," Edey said. "There's no situation you can throw us in right now that we haven't been through as a unit. Staying even and staying steady and trusting us and trusting our team and trusting what we do to win games."

Purdue's defense held the Wolfpack to 36.8% shooting and 50 points.

"We've won a lot. The ways we've lost are very similar," Fletcher Loyer said. "People keep talking about that. No matter what, we're going to battle."

So Purdue battled, an ode to the Gene Keady days with the low-scoring grinder while Keady appreciated from his seat in the stands.

When the Boilermakers had to, they got the timely shots.

From Loyer. From Mason Gillis. From Lance Jones.

And Purdue showed you can't pigeonhole its team.

North Carolina State had a solid plan. Harass Braden Smith. Help on Zach Edey. Make life miserable.

Purdue took that strategy and flipped it to reach the national championship game for the first time since 1969.

"We grinded it out," Jones said. "It wasn't pretty, but I think we made the necessary plays down the stretch that helped us be victorious.

"If we win, I don't think it matters. All that matters right now is we've got one more game and we're competing for a national championship."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball beats NC State in Final Four without playing well