Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Tobin Anderson called his shot after his team’s First Four win over Texas Southern on Wednesday.
In the postgame locker room, Anderson told his team, “the more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let’s go shock the world.”
Of course, the Knights (yes, I had to look that up) did shock the world with possibly the most stunning upset in NCAA Tournament history.
“I want Purdue to see this. The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them”
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 16, 2023
It’s important to remember that Fairleigh Dickinson wouldn’t even be in the NCAA Tournament if Merrimack was allowed to compete in the postseason.
Merrimack defeated the Knights 67-66 in the NEC championship game but the Warriors couldn’t advance due to NCAA Division I transition rules (like Bellarmine last year).
To put things more into perspective, FDU is ranked No. 301 out of 363 Division 1 teams in NET Rankings. The Knights actually lost to the 363rd (last place) team, Hartford, in November. The Northeast Conference is ranked dead last (32 of 32) in league rankings.
The shot that helped cement the massive upset:
MASSIVE 3 AND FDU ARE UP 5 pic.twitter.com/QX9xAofhbz
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 18, 2023
After the upset, Anderson seemed to be somewhat in shock (and understandably so):
Jamie is so good, so cool. pic.twitter.com/KdcS6QoTzh
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) March 18, 2023
