DAYTON, Ohio -- Fairleigh Dickinson finished the 2021-22 season with four wins, fewer than only five of the 358 teams in Division I. The school hired coach Tobin Anderson in May, when many transfers had decided on their next destinations.
The Knights began play in November with the shortest roster in Division I, and one of the youngest.
Five months later, the Knights are still playing in the NCAA tournament, after dominating Texas Southern 84-61 on Wednesday night in a First Four game in which they never trailed. A No. 16 seed, Fairleigh Dickinson won its second-ever tournament game and advanced to face No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday in an East region matchup in Columbus, Ohio.
"I wouldn't have believed you," junior guard Joe Munden Jr. said when asked what he would have thought about such a dramatic turnaround. "That's a testament to how much we believe in Coach and these guys beside me."
Anderson needed key players such as Munden (17 points) and Ansley Almonor (23 points, eight rebounds) to stay and improve. He also had to upgrade the roster with players who knew how to win.
Anderson looked to his previous team, Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College, and added guards Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton. They qualified for four NCAA tournaments, made three Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight, and had a 13-5 postseason record entering Wednesday.
"Grant and Meech, they know how to win, and they've been in big situations," Anderson said. "I didn't say a lot to them before the game, just kind of, 'Hey, let's go do what we do.' When I look at Meech's eyes and see his eyes kind of glaze over, I feel pretty good about what's going to happen. He wanted to go play tonight.
"He thinks he should be here. This is not a surprise to him."
Roberts had 15 points and four assists, while Singleton had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. All five Knights starters scored in double figures.
Fairleigh Dickinson opened the game on a 14-2 run and led by 10 points or more for the final 25:24. Singleton said the early surge settled any nerves and helped players "get used to this stage." Anderson joked that he did "the least coaching" of any game this season.
"I was just kind of along for the ride, honestly, but they just they just played so well, I didn't really have to do a whole lot," Anderson said. "It was like I was almost amazed by how well we're playing."
Anderson brought up the preseason outlook for Fairleigh Dickinson, pegged to finish with only a few more wins than it had in 2021-22. He made sure players knew about the low external expectations.
"Four [wins] to 20 and four to a first-round NCAA win is remarkable," he said.
To get win No. 21, the undersized Knights will need to stun Purdue, led by 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey. Fairleigh Dickinson's average player height is just 6-foot-1, making it the smallest team in Division I, according to research by Ken Pomeroy.
Texas Southern scored 46 points in the paint but was limited in second-chance opportunities. Edey poses a much different challenge.
"I've never met anybody who's 7-4," said Almonor, a 6-foot-6 forward who likely will be assigned to Edey. "I'll try to get into his legs a little bit. Tall guys don't like when people get into their legs."
Tobin grew up in Iowa and often watches Big Ten basketball, noting that much of Fairleigh Dickinson's motion offense mirrors Purdue's.
"It's going to be a tall, tall task for us on Friday night, but our guys will compete," Anderson said. "We're going to do what we do."