Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tobin Anderson says his team can beat 1-seed Purdue after win in First Four

Sam Jarden

Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tobin Anderson says his team can beat 1-seed Purdue after win in First Four image

A group of underdogs from North Jersey has a chance to shock the college basketball world this week.

Fairleigh Dickinson advanced into the first round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Texas Southern 84-61 in the First Four on Wednesday night. The Knights now face a daunting matchup against Sporting News Player of the Year Zach Edey and 1-seed Purdue on Friday (6:50 p.m. ET TNT).  

For his part, FDU head coach Tobin Anderson believes his team can pull off the unthinkable and upset the Boilermakers. He said so in his postgame speech to the players. 

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"I want Purdue to see this," he said. "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world." 

What is Fairleigh Dickinson?

Fairleigh Dickinson University has an undergraduate enrollment of 7,860 students, per U.S. News and World Report. Its main campuses are located in the suburban New Jersey towns of Florham Park, Madison, Hackensack and Teaneck, and it has international campuses in Wroxton, England, and Vancouver, B.C.

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The Knights play their home games at Rothman Center in Hackensack and compete in the Northeast Conference. They have made it to the big dance six times before this year, in 1985, 1988, 1998, 2005, 2016 and most recently in 2019.

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This appearance is a little different, however. They only made it into this year's tournament field because of an NCAA rule prohibiting Merrimack from participating. Merrimack won the NEC Tournament, beating FDU 67-66, but because Merrimack was in Division II less than four years ago, it is banned from playing in March Madness until next season at the earliest. That means FDU received the conference's automatic bid. 

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The Knights are looking to make the most of their opportunity. A blowout win in the First Four has given them a chance to write their name in the history book with one of the biggest upsets in basketball history — and their coach is clearly confident.

Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden Photo

Sam Jarden joined Sporting News as an intern in 2020 and returned as a content producer in 2022. In between, he spent a year and a half at Turner Sports, managing the social media accounts for Bleacher Report, NBA on TNT, NBA TV and others. A proud UNC alumnus, he spends his free time following the Tar Heels, Buffalo Bills and Newcastle United FC, and has been known to occasionally hit the links.