:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72087883/usa_today_20255991.0.jpg "FDU pulls biggest outright upset in NCAA Tournament history with win over Purdue")
You might be wondering how epic the upset by the No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights over the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers was to open the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Well if you ask bookmakers, it was the biggest one ever.
The Knights entered as 23-point underdogs as the line closed at DraftKings Sportsbook. That surpasses the 20.5-point line the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers had against the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers in 2018.
It worked out ok for UVA, as they went on to win the national championship the following season, but short of that this might be a loss the Boilermakers might not get over for awhile. The No. 16's now move to 2-151 all-time, and that's a list you don't want to be on ever. Despite winning both the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles, this season is likely to be considered a failure.
But for FDU, who moves to 3-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, this is their first win outside of Dayton and the First Four. The school that was founded in 1942 made their first NCAA Tournament in 1985, the last season March Madness didn't have a shot clock.
And just as college basketball fans across the world will never forget what UMBC did in 2018, everyone will now know the small campus in Teaneck, New Jersey forever. It's the home of the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.