For just the second time ever, a 16-seed has defeated a 1-seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Move over, UMBC, Fairleigh Dickinson has joined you in the history books after their shocking 63-58 victory over Purdue in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The ways in which this could be considered the most shocking upset of all time in the sport are pretty compelling.
Fairleigh Dickinson was a 4-22 team last year that fired its coach and began the season ranked 355th at KenPom.
We just witnessed one of the most shocking upsets in sports history.
College basketball forever.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 18, 2023
First and foremost, FDU wasn’t even supposed to be here. The Knights didn’t win their conference tournament, but thanks to an NCAA rule, conference champion Merrimack wasn’t allowed to participate in the NCAA Tournament, which then gave the automatic bid to FDU. And it’s worth noting that the NEC was considered one of the worst conferences in the nation this season.
A team that only got into the NCAAs because Merrimack wasn't eligible after winning the NEC tournament just became the second 16 to ever beat a 1.
Purdue. NCAA Tournament infamy.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON. NCAA TOURNAMENT IMMORTALITY.
NOTHING BEATS THIS TOURNAMENT.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 18, 2023
The Knights are also coming off a season in which they were 4-22 and fired their head coach. Current head coach Tobin Anderson took over the program before the season when they had a KenPom ranking of 355.
This is the biggest tournament upset of all-time.
FDU did not win their conference tournament and entered the NCAA tournament at 312 in KenPom.
In 2018, UMBC went up against Virginia ranked 188 in KenPom.
These are two very different types of 16 seeds.
— Matt Grossenbach (@MattGrossenbach) March 18, 2023
Speaking of KenPom, they came into today’s game 275 while Purdue was No. 5 overall (until they lost). That’s the same Purdue that went 29-5 this season, winning the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament titles.
There can't be too many teams in the KenPom era to have lost to a bottom-2 opponent and beaten a top-5 (for now) opponent in the same season.
Fairleigh Dickinson just did. Lost to No. 362 Hartford back in November. Now beat No. 5 (for now) Purdue.
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 18, 2023
In terms of effective height on Kenpom, Purdue was No. 1 in the country while FSU was ranked No. 363 out of 363 schools. Literally the most effectively tall team in the nation vs. the shortest team in the nation in a sport in which height is one of the most critical factors.
Literally the shortest team in the country (FDU) beat the tallest team in the country (Purdue).
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 18, 2023
Heading into Friday’s game, the Boilermakers were a 23.5-point favorite over the team and were considered the lowest-ranked 16-seed in the tournament. Not to mention they were 21-15, so, on paper, they weren’t even considered a “good” mid-major, unlike so many other high-seeded teams. By all accounts, this should have been a 40-point win for Purdue.
https://twitter.com/ChrisDobbertean/status/1636901415518961664
All of these factors, and more, go to show just how epic of an upset this was, and how Farleigh Dickinson’s win over Purdue could very well go down as the biggest upset in college basketball history.
FDU plays in the worst conference in the country, and they didn’t even win their conference.
They came into the tournament ranked No. 312 in Kenpom. Compare that to UMBC 5 years ago (No. 188).
This is awesome. Possibly THE all-time upset.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) March 18, 2023
[Patrick Stevens, Chris Vannini, Chris Dobbertean, Matt Norlander]