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          March Madness 2023: Twitter reacts to FDU-Purdue

          • William E. Ricks
          Mar 18, 2023, 12:54 AM

          The men's NCAA tournament mayhem continued Friday as the No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights took down the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the first round at Columbus, Ohio.

          FDU's win is just the second time a No. 16 seed stunned a No. 1 in the round of 64 NCAA tournament history. The other instance happened in 2018 when the UMBC Retrievers defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54. Entering Friday's game, the Knights had an 0-5 record in the round of 64.

          The Knights entered the second half with a 32-31 lead, and the game stayed tight throughout the second half. Turnovers were a huge factor, as Purdue had 16 total turnovers which led to 15 points for Fairleigh Dickinson. Knights forward Sean Moore led the way with a career-high 19 points to help his team defeat the Boilermakers 63-58.

          Friday's loss is Purdue's third straight loss against a double-digit seed in the NCAA tournament. The Boilermakers lost to the No. 15 seed Saint Peter's Peacocks in last year's tourney and fell to the No. 13 seed North Texas Mean Green in the 2021 tournament.

          The Knights' win caused a frenzy on Twitter, as plenty of stars posted their thoughts on the thrilling contest.

          UMBC revels a 16-seed victory

          The Retrievers' social media account was tuned into the Knights' upset and welcomed FDU to the club.

          Fairleigh Dickson by the tweets

          With under 19 seconds remaining, Fairleigh Dickinson's Twitter account tried to calm its nerves as the game came to a close.

          Once the win was secured, the Knights celebrated a huge upset.

          New Jersey celebrates a huge win

          Fairleigh Dickinson is located in Hackensack, New Jersey, and a fellow Garden State school, Princeton University, whose basketball team defeated Arizona on Thursday, and Jersey native Greg Olsen celebrated the win.

          Brackets busted

          FDU's win means no perfect brackets remain in the ESPN men's Tournament Challenge. Former NFL player Charles Woodson inquired about the status of peoples' brackets after the game.

          Sports world reacts to FDU-Purdue

          Jalen Brunson, Julian Edelman and more across sports Twitter offered their thoughts on the thrilling contest.

          ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this story