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Fairleigh Dickinson, welcome to your place in college basketball history.
For the second time ever on Friday, a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's tournament when Fairleigh Dickinson shocked Purdue, 63-58. With the win, the Knights became the biggest underdogs in NCAA tournament history to win and joined 2018 UMBC as the only No. 16 seeds to win a men's tournament game.
And they weren't even supposed to be here. FDU earned its spot in the field via a technicality after losing to Merrimack in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship. But Merrimack wasn't eligible for the NCAA tournament because it's in just its fourth Division I season. So here we are with Fairleigh Dickinson advancing to the second round.
Unreal.
UMBC welcomed Fairleigh Dickinson to the club on Friday while a stunned college basketball world reacted on social media.
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 18, 2023
We've been lonely
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 18, 2023
OMG r you serious @FDUKnights as # 16 seed is leading # 1 seed @BoilerBall by 5 with a minute to go .
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 18, 2023
Everybody bracket after Purdue got upset by FDU pic.twitter.com/gGJVXbu0LV
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) March 18, 2023
MARCH EFFING MADNESS!!!
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 18, 2023
Go crazy, FDU!!!!
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 18, 2023
Wowwwwwww this has been crazy!
— Jalen Brunson (@jalenbrunson1) March 18, 2023
FAIRLY. RIDICULOUS.
— Rush the Court (@rushthecourt) March 18, 2023
OMG
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) March 18, 2023
Fairleigh Dickson is (probably) gonna do it. How can Purdue fans handle this?
Please don’t touch this tournament. Don’t expand it. Don’t switch it up. Don’t do anything. Just leave it just like this. Please. — Sincerely, Everybody
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) March 18, 2023
The Big Ten hasn't won an NCAA title since 2000 and this is their best team.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 18, 2023
fun fact: Fairleigh Dickinson has a Canadian outpost! they have a Vancouver campus!
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 18, 2023
(trying to look this stuff up before their website inevitably crashes)
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