Friday's NCAA basketball tourney: Fairleigh Dickinson stuns No. 1-seed Purdue
Greensboro, N.C. — Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 seed in history to win an NCAA Tournament game, stunning top-seeded Purdue 63-58 behind 19 points from Sean Moore and a relentless, hustling defense on Friday night.
The shortest team in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey from the start. FDU’s players were quicker and more composed than the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).
Five years ago, UMBC showed the way for the little guys by overwhelming Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after numerous close calls over the years. Still, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and were 1-151 overall before FDU’s shocker.
The Knights will now meet Memphis or Florida Atlantic on Sunday for a Sweet 16 berth in the East Region and a trip next week to play at Madison Square Garden in New York — just a short drive from the private school’s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey.
Fairleigh Dickinson didn’t even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it’s still completing its four-year transition from Division II.
FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved 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 second straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers home. Purdue was a 3 seed when it lost to 15 seed Saint Peter’s, another small New Jersey school, in the Sweet 16 last year.
Edey finished with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what may have been his final college game, but the Knights consistently denied him the ball in the second half. He didn’t attempt a shot in the final nine minutes.
More NCAA Tournament
Kentucky 61, Providence 53
Greensboro, N.C. — Oscar Tshiebwe pulled down 25 rebounds, the second-most in the tournament since 1973, and Kentucky beat Providence.
Antonio Reeves scored 22 points and Jacob Toppin had 18 for the sixth-seeded Wildcats (22-11), who advanced to face either Montana State or Kansas State Sunday in the East Region.
Eleven of Tshiebwe's rebounds came on the offensive glass — a big factor in the Wildcats staying in control as both offenses grinded to a halt after halftime.
With the two-time Associated Press All-American grabbing just about every loose ball, Kentucky finished with a 48-31 rebounding advantage, controlling the offensive glass (plus-10) and dominating in second-chance points, 18-2.
Ed Croswell scored 16 points for Providence (21-12), which shot just 36.2% while making 5 of 24 3-pointers.
MIDWEST REGION
Xavier 59, Kennesaw State 41
Greensboro, N.C. — Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden’s driving attempt at a go-ahead layup in the final seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13-point hole against surprising Kennesaw State to escape with a 72-67 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Souley Boum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who ran off 15 unanswered points as part of a game-ending 24-6 run. That was enough to turn away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in the program’s first-ever March Madness game.
Xavier moves on to face Pittsburgh on Sunday in the Midwest Region.
Xavier led 68-67 when Burden — who’d been successful all day with dribble penetration — turned into the paint past Jerome Hunter and appeared to have a path to the rim. The 7-foot Nunge moved over and swatted the ball into the backboard.
Jerome Hunter scored 24 points to lead the Musketeers, while Boum had 17. Nunge had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State.
Miami 63, Drake 56
Albany, N.Y. — Nijel Pack scored 21 points, including the go-ahead jumper and a pair of free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed Miami rallied past 12th-seeded Drake.
The Hurricanes (26-7) scored the final 10 points. Norchad Omier added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who were held to a season low in scoring. Wooga Poplar had 15 points.
Miami will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 13th-seeded Kent State in the second round.
Darnell Brodie had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Drake (27-8). The Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions were outscored 16-1 over the final 4:29 and 10-0 in the last 2:28. The Bulldogs missed their last seven shots from the field and were scoreless the final 3:24.
Pittsburgh 59, Iowa State 41
Greensboro, N.C.— Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23% shooting.
Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Things didn’t get much better for the Cyclones, who had three stretches in which they missed at least eight consecutive shots.
Pitt (24-11), which edged Mississippi State in the First Four, moves on to play third-seeded Xavier on Sunday.
Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State (19-14).
EAST REGION
Marquette 78, Vermont 61
Columbus, Ohio — Kam Jones scored 18 straight points for Marquette in the second half, and the second-seeded Golden Eagles beat No. 15 seed Vermont for their first NCAA Tournament victory in a decade.
Jones finished with 19 points. Oso Ighodaro scored 14 points and David Joplin added 12 as Marquette (29-6) pulled away in the last 10 minutes. Marquette won its first NCAA Tournament game in a decade and advanced to face Michigan State on Sunday.
Dylan Penn, Matt Veretto and Robin Duncan each had 11 points for Vermont (23-11), whose 15-game win streak was snapped.
Jones made a 3-pointer early in the second half to begin an 18-6 spurt during which he scored all of Marquette's points as the Golden Eagles pulled ahead 63-46.
WEST REGION
Saint Mary's 63, VCU 51
Albany, N.Y. — Mitchell Saxen had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Saint Mary’s beat ailing VCU.
Alex Ducas also scored 17 points as the fifth-seeded Gaels (27-7) advanced to the second round for the second straight year. Logan Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and reserve Augustas Marciulionis scored 13 points. Saint Mary's will face UConn on Sunday.
Ace Baldwin led 12th-seeded VCU (27-8) with 13 points, but he appeared to sprain his right ankle on his landing after taking a jumper with just over 14 minutes left in regulation. The Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year went to the locker room for treatment and missed about five minutes as VCU expanded its lead from four points to nine.
UConn 87, Iona 63
Albany, N.Y. — Adama Sanogo scored 10 of his 28 points in the first five minutes of the second half as fourth-seeded UConn took control and beat Iona.
The Huskies (26-8) advanced to play fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s on Sunday after losing in the first round under coach Dan Hurley the last two seasons.
Coach Rick Pitino's Gaels (27-8) had their 14-game winning streak snapped. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions led by two at halftime but didn’t have the depth to keep up with one of the Big East’s best for 40 minutes.
Walter Clayton Jr. led Iona with 14 points.
SOUTH REGION
Baylor 74, UC Santa Barbara 56
Denver — Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara.
Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points, and LJ Cryer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half.
Baylor (23-10) overcame a one-point halftime deficit and advanced to play Creighton on Sunday.
Miles Norris led the 14th-seeded Gauchos (27-8) with 15 points. Ajay Mitchell added 13.
Creighton 72, North Carolina State 63
Denver — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points and sixth-seeded Creighton overcame an abysmal 3-point shooting day to fend off No. 11 seed North Carolina State.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner did a little bit of everything for the Bluejays, which included hitting a big 3-pointer on a day the team finished 3 of 20 from long range. Kalkbrenner had six dunks and seven rebounds, and N.C. State big men D.J. Burns Jr. and Ebenezer Dowuona were hampered by foul trouble.
Next up for the Bluejays (22-12) is third-seeded Baylor in the second round.
Terquavion Smith led the Wolfpack (23-11) with 32 points.