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Happy just to make the tournament, the Fairleigh Dickinson University men’s basketball team has made history, becoming just the second 16th seed to upset a 1 seed, overcoming the odds to knock out Purdue in a game that will be the lore of legend.
The Boilermakers (29-5) easily ran through the Big Ten during the season, only to be caught by a sweet-shooting Knights team, who failed to even win their own conference tournament.
But they won this one.
Playing with house money, the Knights were able to swarm the Boilermakers’ All-America center Zach Edey and clamped down on defense at the end of the game to send the top seed packing back to Indiana.
Led by guard Sean Moore’s 19 points, the Knights were able to out hustle and wear down Purdue, who notched just their sixth - and final - loss of the season after their shooting stroke went cold.
After the game, Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tobin Anderson was captured on camera pumping up his squad as they get ready to prepare to face either Memphis or Florida Atlantic University in the second round of the tournament.
“You just made history. College basketball history,” he said. “This is one of the most unbelievable stories of all time … We’re playing damn well and doing all the stuff we have to do. And we can do something even more.
“We have (our guys) working on Memphis … Working on (FAU) … So enjoy this. I’m proud of you. For the rest of our lives we’re going to remember this special moment.”
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