For just the second time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, a No. 16 seed took out a No. 1 seed in the first round.
Fairleigh Dickinson led Purdue by one at halftime. The top-seeded Boilermakers seemed to restore order in the second half, opening up a 47-41 lead. But the Knights battled back and took a lead into the final minutes.
Purdue tried to get back into the game, but couldn’t. Fairleigh Dickinson went up by five points in the final seconds and came away with the shocking 63-58 win.
"FDU BELIEVE IT? FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME EVER, A 16 BEATS A 1!" 🏀🔥🔥🔥#MarchMadness #FairleighDickinson pic.twitter.com/1ju4ur6jI0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 18, 2023
Coming out of the small Northeast Conference, the Knights lost 15 games during the regular season. What’s even crazier is that they didn’t even win the NEC Conference Tournament. That honor went to Merrimack, who defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the final.
But the Warriors were ineligible for the tournament — and not because of anything they did wrong. This was Merrimack’s fourth season in Division I basketball. A controversial rule states that a team switching divisions is ineligible for postseason play for four seasons — even if the move is up.
Merrimack was robbed. #FtheNCAA https://t.co/Cos8w82ONT
— Matt Doyle (@nbamatt321) March 18, 2023
God imagine what Merrimack would do to this Purdue team
— The Sickos CBB Committee (@SickosCBB) March 18, 2023
FDU isn't supposed to be in the tourney. Didn't win the NEC. Merrimack did. But ineligible as a DI transitioning team. Unreal. https://t.co/r9wKci2JmG
— Dana O'Neil (@DanaONeilWriter) March 18, 2023
Quick reminder that Merrimack won the league but wasn't eligible for the auto-bid.
Fairleigh Dickinson? pic.twitter.com/60vdQ37PZv
— Brian Hamilton (@_Brian_Hamilton) March 18, 2023
If FDU can do this, imagine how badly Merrimack would be beating Purdue right now.
— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) March 18, 2023
If the NCAA’s stupid dumb Transition Rule wasn’t in place, Merrimack plays tonight instead of FDU. No guarantee it goes the same way, but Merrimack earned the opportunity
Could you *imagine* what this would’ve done for a relatively new Merrimack program? NCAA took that from them
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) March 18, 2023
It’s also worth remembering that Merrimack didn’t only win the NEC Tournament. The Warriors were also the best team in the regular season, finishing with a 12-4 conference record, two games ahead of Fairleigh Dickinson.
Things were clearly working in the Knights’ favor this season.
[Photo Credit: TNT]
