YouTube Gold: Was This The Greatest Upset In NCAA Tournament History?
Mar 17, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Joe Munden Jr. (1) and forward Ansley Almonor (5) celebrate their 63-58 win over the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers during the first round of the NCAA men s basketball tournament at Nationwide Arena.
Marquette won 78-61. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch Basketball Ncaa Men S Basketball Tournament In the history of the NCAA tournament, there have only been two 16 seeds to win. First, there was UMBC’s stunning victory over Virginia in 2018.
The coach of that team, Ryan Odom, now coaches the Cavaliers. The other was in 2023, when Fairleigh Dickinson knocked off Purdue. FDU’s coach, Tobin Anderson, amused the basketball world when he said he thought his Knights would beat Purdue.
It seemed ridiculous: aside from being the #1 seed, Purdue boasted 7-4 Zach Edey. A massive man who weighed nearly 290 at the time, Edey had developed into a nearly unstoppable big man. For its part, Fairleigh Dickinson was the smallest team in the tournament, and was only in the field because the winner of the Northeast Conference Tournament, Merrimack, was not eligible for the NCAA tournament, as it was still transitioning to D-I.
So Anderson’s confidence looked completely deranged. Until it didn’t. FDU, though far smaller, was radically quicker than Purdue, and eventually, despite his size, Edey was essentially a liability.