FD Stuns No. 1 Seeded Purdue | News, Sports, Jobs

COLUMBUS (AP) — Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 seed in history to win an NCAA Tournament game, amazing leading-seeded Purdue 63-58 behind 19 points from Sean Moore and a relentless, hustling defense on Friday evening.

The shortest group in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no worry in swarming 7-foot-four All-America center Zach Edey from the start off. FDU’s players have been faster and much more composed than the Large Ten champion Boilermakers (29-six).

5 years ago, UMBC showed the way for the small guys by overwhelming Virginia in the 1st 16-more than-1 victory right after several close calls more than the years. Nonetheless, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and have been 1-151 general just before FDU’s shocker.

Immediately after the final horn, FDU’s players mobbed every other on the floor of Nationwide Arena, exactly where the fans from Memphis and Florida Atlantic joined forces in cheering on the Knights in the final minutes.

Fairleigh Dickinson didn’t even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one particular point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament since of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason since it is nevertheless finishing its 4-year transition from Division II.

FDU held Purdue scoreless for much more than five 1/two minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by 5 on a three-pointer by Moore — who is from suburban Columbus — with 1:03 left. The Knights held on from there, becoming the second straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers residence. Purdue was a three seed when it lost to 15 seed Saint Peter’s, yet another tiny New Jersey college, in the Sweet 16 final year.

Edey completed with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what could have been his final college game, but the Knights regularly denied him the ball down the stretch. He didn’t try a shot in the final nine minutes. The junior center is a doable NBA lottery choose, but the bitterness of this defeat could sway him to stick about for yet another year.

The Knights’ two prior NCAA Tournament wins came in the Initial 4, such as this year, when they drubbed Texas Southern 84-61. Immediately after that game, Knights coach Tobin Anderson told his players he believed they could deal with Edey and Co.

“The much more I see Purdue, the much more I believe we can beat them,” Anderson told his players in the locker space.

Some of Purdue’s players mentioned they felt disrespected by the comments, which turned out to be prophetic.

The Knights will now meet the Memphis-Florida Atlantic winner on Sunday for a Sweet 16 berth and trip to play at Madison Square Garden in New York subsequent week — just a brief drive from the private school’s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey.

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