16-seed FDU stuns Edey, Boilermakers
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 seed in history to win an NCAA Tournament game, stunning top-seeded Purdue 6358 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 before FDU’s shocker.
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 fouryear transition from Division II.
Xavier 72, Kennesaw State 67: Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden’s driving attempt at a go-ahead layup in the final seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13point hole against surprising Kennesaw State to escape in Greeneboro, North Carolina.
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 either Iowa State or 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.
Kennesaw State made just two baskets in the final 9:57 as its chances of a signature March moment slipped away painfully.
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 the Owls.
Pittsburgh 59, Iowa State 41: In 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.
Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes each had 12 points for Iowa State (19-14), which reached the Sweet 16 last year in coach T.J. Otzelberger’s first season.
Michigan State 72, USC 62: In Columbus, Ohio, Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California in the second half for a win in the first round of the East Region.
Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans (20-12) will face Marquette on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. Marquette coach Shaka Smart sat on press row for part of the second half to get a closer look at what could be his next opponent.
Smart watched as Michigan State ramped up its defensive intensity after halftime to muzzle the streaky Trojans (22-11), who were knocked out in the tournament’s first round for the second straight year.
Saint Mary’s 63, VCU 51: In 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 or Iona 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.
Baylor 74, UC Santa Barbara 56: In Denver, Caleb Lohner scored a seasonbest 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 to advance to play the Creighton-North Carolina State winner on Sunday in the South Region.
Lohner’s only other double-digit performance since transferring from BYU to Baylor for this 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. Miles Norris led the Gauchos with 15 points. Ajay Mitchell added 13.
Creighton 72, N.C. State 63: 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 in Denver.
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 10 rebounds, and North Carolina 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 in the South Region. Terquavion Smith led the Wolfpack (23-11) with 32 points. The team started slow, going 0 for 8 from the field to open the game, and never found its rhythm from deep. It was 3 for 14 from 3-point range.
UConn 87, Iona 63: Adama Sanogo scored 10 of his 28 points in the first five minutes of the second half as fourthseeded UConn took control and beat Rick Pitino’s Iona in Albany, N.Y.
Iona (27-8) had its 14-game winning streak snapped as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion didn’t have the depth to keep up with one of the Big East’s best for 40 minutes.