Fairleigh Dickinson upset Purdue to become the second No. 16 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game News Jani

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

The Knights (21-15), the tournament’s shortest team, showed no fear from the start in 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Eddy, a Toronto native. FDU’s players were faster and more composed than the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).

Five years ago, UMBC led the way for the little guys by overpowering Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after several close calls in years. Still, No. 16 had a 1-150 record against No. 1 and was 1-151 overall before FDU’s shocker.

After the final horn, FDU players huddled together on the Nationwide Arena floor, where Memphis and Florida Atlantic fans joined forces to cheer the Knights on in the final minutes.

Fairleigh Dickinson didn’t even win the Northeast Conference tournament, falling by one point to Merrimack in the title game, which didn’t make the NCAA tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it’s still in its prime. Completing the four. Transfer year from Division II.

FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes and went 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 home the Boilermakers. Purdue was a 3 seed when it lost in the Sweet 16 last year to 15 seed St. Peters, New Jersey, another small school.

Eddy finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in what would have been his final college game, but the Knights consistently denied him the ball down low. He did not attempt a shot in the final nine minutes.

“A lot of times they’d have a friend guarding the back and a friend basically sitting on my lap,” Eddie said. “They absolutely drove the whole game. Catches were very hard to come by. To their credit, they had a great game plan. And they executed it very well.”

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

Eddie showed some frustration and at one point told an official, “Sir, he’s holding my left arm.”

The junior center is a likely NBA lottery pick, but the sting of this loss could force Eddy to stick around for another year.

“I don’t have an opinion on it,” Eddy said when asked about his future. “I will make my decision next.”

The Knights’ two previous NCAA Tournament wins came in the first four, including this year, when they beat Texas Southern 84-61. After the game, Knights coach Tobin Anderson told his players that he believed they could handle Eddy and company.

“The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them,” Anderson told his players in the locker room.

Some Purdue players said they felt insulted by the comments, which proved to be prophetic.

“It was the right message, wrong audience,” Anderson said. “I would have said there were no cameras. I didn’t mean to upset Purdue. That wasn’t the idea at all. But that should be the message. We’re trying to win the next game. We’re just happy to be here. can not be.”

“And boys have to believe.”

The Knights will now travel to play the winner of the Memphis-Florida Atlantic for a Sweet 16 berth on Sunday and next week at Madison Square Garden in New York – just a short drive from the private school’s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Game-saving block #3 helps Xavier avoid getting distracted.

Jake Ngay stopped Terrell Burden’s driving attempt on a last-second go-ahead, and Xavier overcame a 13-point hole against surprising Kansas State with a 72-67 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. lost. .

Solly Baum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who went on a 15-unanswered run as part of a 24-6 run. That was enough to put away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in the program’s first March Madness game.

Xavier advances to face either Iowa State or Pittsburgh in the Midwest Regional on Sunday.

Xavier led 68-67 when Burden — who had been successful with dribble penetration all day — turned in the paint past Jerome Hunter and appeared to drive to the rim. The 7-footer stepped forward and drove the ball into the backboard.

Kennesaw State made just two baskets in the final 9:57 as chances for its signature March moment slipped painfully away.

Coles hits a late floater as TCU edges Arizona State.

Watching from the bench for most of last season, JaKobe Coles patiently waited his turn.

His reward came Friday night, a floater from the lane with 1.5 seconds left that lifted No. 6 seed TCU past 11th-seeded Arizona State 72-70 in the first round.

Coles took a pass from Miles from above the 3-point circle, dribbled once, took two steps and drained the game-winner.

Arizona State guard Frankie Collins’ frustration at the buzzer lost everything, and coach Bobby Hurley was left wondering if he should have used a timeout to set up the play.

While TCU (22-12) advanced to play Gonzaga on Sunday, Arizona State’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion. No one can say the Sun Devils (23-13) didn’t put on a show.

They built an 11-point lead early in the second half with a pair of highlight reel dunks. One was from Collins — who had a defender draped over him — and the other was from Dion Cambridge, who finished off a fast break with a backward power slam.

That’s when TCU started to pull away.

Spartans survive.

Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State used the second half to beat No. 10 seed Southern California 72-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s East Region on Thursday.

Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans (20-12) face Marquette on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. Marquette coach Shaka Smart sat in press row for part of the second half to find out who his next opponent might be.

Smart saw Michigan State increase its defensive intensity after halftime to beat the streaky Trojans (22-11), who were knocked out in the first round of the tournament for the second year in a row.

Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins each added 12 points for Michigan State, which held USC to 34 percent shooting in the second half. It felt like every possession was a challenge for the Trojans, who only stayed in range with a few late 3-pointers and some atrocious free throw shooting by Michigan State.

Michigan State, making its 25th straight tournament appearance under Izzo, will head into what has been a unique and challenging season for the Spartans. The team became the face of a grieving school after a gunman killed three students and wounded five others in a campus shooting on Feb. 13.

Playing in Big Ten country, and backed by an even greener-clad crowd on St. Patrick’s Day, the Spartans took control in the second half.

Jones led Marquette past Vermont.

Kam Jones scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half as second-seeded Marquette defeated No. 15 Vermont 78-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Oso Ighodaro scored 14 points and David Joplin added 12 as Marquette (29-6) pulled away in the final 10 minutes and went on the road to face seventh-seeded Michigan State.

Michigan State defeated No. 10 Southern California on Friday.

Jones’ second-half surge included scoring 17 straight for Marquette, including 3-point shots. By the time it was over, the Golden Eagles had extended their lead from five points to 17 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Dylan Penn, Matt Veretto and Robin Duncan each had 11 points for Vermont (23-11), whose 15-game winning streak was snapped by the Golden Eagles.

Marquette led 39-30 at the half, despite Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kulik hitting just 3 of 10 shots from the floor.

Kolek wasn’t a big factor in the game, picking up his fourth foul early in the second. He finished with eight points after scoring in double figures in the last 13 games.

Marquette extended its winning streak to 10 games.

Ill VCU until the next round

Mitchell Saxon had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Saint Mary’s defeated ailing VCU 63-51 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Alex Doukas also scored 17 points as the fifth-seeded Gaels (27-7) advanced to the second round for the second year in a row. Logan Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and reserve Augustas Marciulios scored 13 points.

Ace Baldwin led VCU (27-8) with 13 points, but appeared to sprain his right ankle on his landing after taking a jumper with just 14 minutes left in regulation. The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year lay on the court for a few minutes before receiving treatment on the bench and returning to the locker room.

VCU was down 38-34 when Baldwin left and 48-39 when he returned with 9:03 left when the Gaels of the West Coast Conference went on a 10-5 spurt with Kyle Bowen’s three-point play. .

St. Mary’s, which held a 37-29 rebounding advantage, will play either No. 4 seed UConn or 13th seed Iona and coach Rick Pitino on Sunday.

The NCAA appearance was the first for 12th-seeded VCU since it had to miss a game in the 2021 tournament due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The Rams had won nine in a row.

Baylor advances

Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara 74-56.

Baylor (23-10) overcame a one-point halftime deficit to advance to play the winner of Creighton-North Carolina State on Sunday in the South Region.

Lohner’s only other double-digit performance since transferring from BYU to Baylor for the season came back in November when he scored 11 against Virginia.

The Gauchos (27-8) looked like easy pickings for the Bears in the opening minutes before they used a 13-1 run to take a 26-22 lead.

The Gauchos led the Mountain West Conference with a .493 shooting percentage and that sharp shooting carried over to the ball arena, where they shot 61.5 percent in the first half to take a 36-35 lead into the locker room.

However, it all went away after halftime. The Gauchos were held to 30.4 percent shooting in the second half and the Bears pulled away.