Heading into the 2023 NCAA tournament, fans were expecting the usual underdog story, but we were treated to something more spectacular: the biggest upset in college basketball history. One of the top ranked teams heading into the tournament, the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers, were upset by No.16 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson 63-58 on Friday, March 17.
Prior to the game, head coach Tobin Anderson spoke to his team after their win in the First Four game against Texas Southern, he said, “I want Purdue to see this…The more I watch Purdue, the more I believe we can beat them.”
Before getting into the actual matchup, it is important to display everything this program and Anderson have been through. Anderson came from a Division II program, St.Thomas Aquinas, which is located in Rockland County, New York where he spent nine years building a culture. In May of 2022, Anderson was hired by Fairleigh-Dickinson University to coach the basketball team, and he immediately brought three of his former players from STA to FDU. Seniors Dimitri Roberts and Grant Singleton, and sophomore Sean Moore.
Also, FDU did not win their conference tournament, so how did they qualify for the tournament you might ask? Well, the conference champion, Merrimack, is not able to qualify for the NCAA tournament since the school is still in the process of officially becoming a Division I school. With this rule, FDU received a play-in game in the tournament as a 16 seed. They defeated Texas Southern with ease, 84-61, to advance in a matchup against No.1 seed Purdue.
Getting into the matchup, FDU has the smallest average height of any team in the NCAA, an average height of 6-foot-1, took on Purdue led by 7-foot-4 All-American Center Zach Edey. March Madness’ version of David and Goliath, the Knights competed from the jump and kept the game close throughout the first half with their 3-point shooting. The Knights increased their lead to 19-12 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, which took the Boilermakers by surprise. By halftime, Purdue had cut the deficit but still trailed 32-31.
The second half was a true masterclass by Anderson and his players, but in Purdue’s perspective, it was a complete meltdown. Anderson tested Purdue by taking away their bread-and-butter, an Edey post-up. The Knights consistently double-teamed Edey forcing other Purdue players to make plays, which they failed to do throughout the second half. In some cases, Purdue players had wide-open shots but were not able to take advantage, which led to the unthinkable.
At the seven minute mark, FDU led a close battle with Purdue 54-53, and with only 2:50 remaining, the score remained the same. The Knights defense was working to perfection, but they were not able to take advantage offensively. That is until a former D2 guard, Sean Moore, took over. First, he nailed a pair of free throws to give the team the lead, and finished a contested layup on the next offensive possession. Lastly, he hit a dagger 3-point shot with under a minute remaining, which led to the victory for the Knights.
Three out of the top four scorers for FDU were transfers from St.Thomas Aquinas. Moore finished the game with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds, Roberts added 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and Singleton had eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The Knights were 23.5 point underdogs heading into the game, and finished the game as the second 16 seed to ever beat a one seed, joining UMBC who upset Virginia in 2018. This game spotlights how much talent throughout all levels of college basketball and with the right mentality and effort, any team can be beaten.
After the game, I asked GRCC men’s basketball head coach Joe Fox on his perspective on the upset and what he learned from FDU’s win.
“If you look at the advanced metrics like strength of schedule, the FDU win was significantly a bigger upset than the UMBC win a few years ago, ” Fox said. “The main takeaway from the tournament in general this year are a lot of different ways to win a game. We’re seeing higher scoring games and games in the 50’s. It’s all been about who’s able to execute their game plan the best.”
