For just the second time in NCAA history, a No. 16 seed has stunned the sports world as Fairleigh Dickinson toppled No. 1 seed Purdue, 63–58, in the round of 64 on Friday night.
Led by first-year coach Tobin Anderson, the Knights (21–15) outlasted the heavily-favorited Boilermakers (29–5) in a showing that embodied the true meaning of David beating Goliath. After taking a 32–31 lead into halftime following a 19–13 run to open the game, FDU weathered the storm, including a 10–0 Purdue run to take a 47–41 lead with 11:41 left in the game. The Knights would go on to end the game on 22–11 run to pull off the shocking upset victory.
FDU junior forward Sean Moore finished the game with a team-high 19 points and made several key defensive plays down the stretch to help pesky FDU maintain control of the game. The Knights’ defensive effort notably affected Purdue star Zach Edey, who finished with a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds but was held to just one shot in the final 12 minutes of the game.
