AP Photo/Michael Conroy
The No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights defeated the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers 63-58 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA men’s tournament, marking one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history.
Fairleigh Dickinson entered as a 23.5-point underdog:
David Payne Purdum @DavidPurdum
Fairleigh Dickson closed as a 23.5-point underdog against Purdue, making it the largest upset in tourney history by the spread since 1985 when field expanded.
Purdue could be found at -10,000 to win straight-up
91% of the $ bet on the money-line @PointsBetUSA was on Purdue.
It is just the second No. 16 seed in the men’s tournament to defeat a No. 1 seed, joining Maryland-Baltimore County, which defeated Virginia 74-54 as a 20.5-point underdog in 2018.
The Knights, the smallest team in the country, made things difficult for the Boilermakers, the largest team, with their three-point shooting. FDU made seven of its 23 shots from deep. Purdue shot five-of-26.
Fairleigh Dickinson also had 11 steals and just nine turnovers. Purdue had 16 giveaways.
Junior forward Sean Moore, senior guard Demetre Roberts and sophomore forward Cameron Tweedy powered the Knights to victory, scoring 19, 12 and 10 points.
FDU will face No. 8 Memphis or No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the next round.
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