Fairleigh Dickinson shocks the world by upsetting No. 1 seed Purdue in the NCAA Tournament

After history was made 5 years ago in the NCAA Tournament, Fairleigh Dickinson becomes the 2nd-ever 16 seed to beat a 1, as Purdue shockingly falls.

Coming into this game, the Purdue Boilermakers were the consensus No. 1 seed pick to lose early in the NCAA Tournament. Despite being ranked in the top-5 the entire year and having the clear National Player of the Year favorite in Zach Edey, there have been clear weaknesses to their game.

The question has been whether or not Memphis or Florida Atlantic, the next set of opponents would be the ones to beat Purdue. No one thought Fairleigh Dickinson, a 16 seed that needed a win over Texas Southern in the play-in game to get there. The Knights were the shortest team collectively in the entire field, with an average height of 6’4. Compare that to the 7’4 Edey and it should’ve been an easy call.

But one thing Fairleigh Dickinson does know how to do is pressure, something the freshmen guards of the Boilermakers have struggled against. And that strategy worked, forcing a good amount of turnovers and taking the favorites out of their game. It was a 32-31 halftime lead and a clear warning sign to the Boilermakers.

Purdue just never could get that big run to put Fairleigh Dickinson on its heels, with the game going back and forth in the final minutes. Edey did all he could do, scoring a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds. But as feared, the starting freshmen duo of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith struggled all game from the field, combining to go for 20 points on 6/119 shooting.

The Knights needed Purdue to miss some 3s and for them to make some timely ones and the one by Sean Moore to extend the lead to five points with a minute left proved to be a killer. After several stops afterward and some timing free throws, the Knights became the 2nd 16 seed ever to beat a 1, 62-58 over Purdue. Moore, who hit that dagger three, finished with 19 points.

Fairleigh Dickinson now awaits the winner of Memphis and Florida Atlantic in a completed broken-up bracket. Can they go farther than UMBC did when they beat No. 1 Virginia in 2018? Who knows. But one thing is for certain.. there are no more guarantees in the NCAA Tournament.