FDU coach predicted March Madness upset over “beatable” Purdue

Even before the FDU Knights stunned the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers, their head coach was caught on camera predicting the upset.

On Wednesday, the vast majority of college basketball fans had no idea who what FDU was. On Friday, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights became the talk of March Madness.

FDU is now just the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history. They took down the Purdue Boilermakers, 63-58, in the first round in a stunning upset that no one saw coming.

Incredibly, head coach Tobin Anderson called it.

FDU coach Tobin Anderson called his team upsetting Purdue

“The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them,” Anderson said on Wednesday ahead of the start of the tournament.

It turned out Purdue was indeed very beatable. Despite FDU boasting the shortest squad Division I, while facing 7-foot-4 Sporting News Player of the Year Zach Edey, they didn’t let the Boilermakers bully them. They took their shots. They defended with gusto. And they got the win.

To say it was improbable would be a massive understatement. FDU shouldn’t have even been there. Northeast Conference champion Merrimack was ineligible to play in this year’s NCAA Tournament because they are in the transitional period into D-I.

Meanwhile, Purdue lacked the poise or mindset to see off the upset bid. Edey was held without a shot in the final minutes while the Boilermakers struggled to find their clutch moments.

On Friday, FDU may have been David and Purdue may have been Goliath, but there was never any doubt in the hearts of the Knights. They took the floor believing they could pull off the greatest underdog victory in the history of the sport and they pulled it off.