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Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tobin Anderson had a bold message for his team after its opening day win in the NCAA Tournament. He believes his squad can achieve the (near) impossible.
The head coach says that he’s been watching No. 1 seed Purdue, telling his guys that the more he sees, the more he thinks an upset is possible.
Fairleigh Dickinson was dominant in its “First Four” victory over Texas Southern on Wednesday. Despite entering the matchup as an underdog, the Knights blasted the Tigers and never trailed in the contest.
Things got off to a promising start with a quick 12-0 run in the first four minutes of play. From there, FDU never looked back.
The Knights found themselves up by 16 at the halftime break and they led by double digits the entire second period. When all was said and done, Fairleigh Dickinson left Dayton with a 23-point win.
Now, the sights are set on No. 1 seed Purdue.
Here’s what Tobin Anderson had to say in his postgame talk.
“I want Purdue to see this. The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them”
🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢 pic.twitter.com/Wsn4dLGqrd
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 16, 2023
“The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them.”
While you wouldn’t expect anything less from the leader of a team that just landed a big March Madness win, history is not on FDU’s side.
No. 16 seeds are just 1-147 when facing top-seeded opponents, with the only win coming in UMBC’s improbable victory over Virginia back in 2018.
Fairleigh Dickinson will try to become the second team to ever achieve the feat, but it won’t be easy sledding. The FDU lineup currently ranks as the smallest in all of March Madness, with none of the top nine players standing taller than 6′ 6″.
The Boilermakers, meanwhile, will look to dominate the glass with 7′ 4″ big man Zach Edey, the Big Ten’s player of the year.
FDU is the smallest team in the country. None of the top nine guys is taller than 6-6.
If they close this out, they get Purdue and 7-4 Zach Edey next.
Should be fun!
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 16, 2023
While Tobin Anderson is confident in his team’s abilities, not many around the college basketball world see an upset coming.
This won’t age well
— D’Mari Harding, M.A. (@DmariHard) March 16, 2023
We’ll see if they can pull off the unlikely win on Friday. Fairleigh Dickinson and Purdue tip off at 6:50 PM.