Fairleigh Dickinson shocks Purdue to become second No. 16 seed ever to win NCAA tournament game

Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 seed in history to win an NCAA Tournament game, stunning top-seeded Purdue 63-58 behind 19 points from Sean Moore and a relentless, hustling defence on Friday night.

The shortest team in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America centre Zach Edey, a native of Toronto, from the start. FDU's players were quicker and more composed than the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).

Five years ago, UMBC showed the way for the little guys by overwhelming Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after numerous close calls over the years. Still, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and were 1-151 overall before FDU's shocker.

After the final horn, FDU's players mobbed each other on the floor of Nationwide Arena, where the fans from Memphis and Florida Atlantic joined forces in cheering on the Knights in the final minutes.

Fairleigh Dickinson didn't even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn't participate in the NCAA Tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it's still completing its four-year transition from Division II.

FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by five on a 3-pointer by Moore — who is from suburban Columbus — with 1:03 left. The Knights held on from there, becoming the third straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers home. Purdue was a 3 seed when it lost to 15 seed Saint Peter's, another small New Jersey school, in the Sweet 16 last year.

Edey finished with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what may have been his final college game, but the Knights consistently denied him the ball down the stretch. He didn't attempt a shot in the final nine minutes.

"A lot of times they would have one dude guarding from behind and one dude basically sitting in my lap," Edey said. "They were full fronting the entire game. Made it very hard to get catches. Credit to them, they had a great game plan coming in. And they executed it very well."

Without a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-6, Fairleigh Dickinson sometimes needed two players to guard Edey.

Edey showed some frustration and at one point told one of the officials, "Sir, he's holding my left arm."

The junior centre is a possible NBA lottery pick, but the bitterness of this defeat could sway Edey to stick around for another year.

"I have no opinion on that," Edey said when asked about his future. "I'll make my decision going forward."

The Knights' two prior NCAA Tournament wins came in the First Four, including this year, when they drubbed Texas Southern 84-61. After that game, Knights coach Tobin Anderson told his players he believed they could handle Edey and Co.

"The more I see Purdue, the more I think we can beat them," Anderson told his players in the locker room.