'Everything is different now:' FDU enjoying the attention, but not satisfied just yet
The hours after Fairleigh Dickinson pulled off its upset of Purdue presented conflicting scenarios.
Congratulatory calls and text messages flooded the phones of coach Tobin Anderson and his players, with the Knights at the center of the college basketball world as the latest darlings of the NCAA Tournament.
FDU dominated social media. Fans across the country wanted to know more about Anderson and the small Bergen County school.
“I personally would say life-changing,” forward Sean Moore said. “That whole game has changed everybody on our team, staff, students, everybody who go to Fairleigh Dickinson University, everything is different now.”
But while the Knights soaked up the celebration, there was another mission ahead with a chance at a dream opportunity.
Two days after toppling the No. 1 seed Boilermakers, sixteenth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson will play No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the second round in the East Region Sunday (7:45 p.m., truTV) at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
“Obviously been a good day for us enjoying all the publicity and the notoriety for the win,” said Anderson, in his first season at FDU after leading Division II St. Thomas Aquinas to a 209-62 record over nine seasons. “Trying to settle ourselves back into the fact we have to go play a terrific team tomorrow, Florida Atlantic. I was really impressed watching them”
Not that FDU needs any extra motivation, but one more victory would mean something that seemed unthinkable even a week ago.
If the Knights can keep their run going, they would book a trip to the Sweet 16, back home, at Madison Square Garden.
FDU is going to have to fight through the whirlwind of emotions it’s been experiencing.
“It's going to be hard,” Moore said. “We beat the No. 1 team in the country. The NCAA Tournament most definitely going to be hard. Just got to put that game behind us and get back to business. There's still business to be done. We've just got to put it behind us, celebrate later, just worry about tomorrow's game.”
FDU captured the hearts of the college basketball world by showing its own collective heart against Purdue, which boasted more size and experience but couldn’t keep up with the plucky and tenacious Knights.
Now the next challenge is FAU, which beat No. 8 Memphis in their first-round game. The Owls are 32-3 and went 18-2 against Conference USA competition. They play a more similar style to FDU than Purdue did.
“They are a true team,” Anderson said. “They are unselfish, they share the ball, a lot of interchangeable parts. You can see why they’re a Top-25 team, and tough and strong and physical. They’re not as big obviously as Purdue and some teams we’ve played, but they are aggressive. It’ll be another heck of a challenge for us just to compete. …They’ll be ready for us. That’s one thing watching them play: They’ll be prepared. We’re going to have to play very well to compete.”
THE CLIMBHow Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tobin Anderson got here after 20 years in D-2 and D-3
Anderson said he didn’t sense any sort of complacency from his team. The Knights are hungry. They want more. Taking down Purdue wasn’t enough.
Fairleigh Dickinson already showed the nation just how determined it is. Yet there’s still more work to be done.
“Just staying focused and locked in,” guard Grant Singleton said. “It's hard to top what we did last night. But we are just trying to keep a level head, stay humble about the situation. We have more things to do. We want to keep dancing. So just staying focused.”
The World’s Most Famous Arena awaits. FDU needs just one more win.
“To have this opportunity is really special,” Anderson said. “And now let's go see what can happen. And if we've got a chance to go to the Garden and play in the Sweet 16, I wouldn't have to fly back to Jersey, I could jog back, take off running, be like Forrest Gump or something. That would be incredible.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: March Madness: Fairleigh Dickinson ready for matchup with FAU
