Fairleigh Dickinson upset of No. 1 Purdue makes our NCAA Tournament history shock list

There is nothing quite like March Madness. The best teams in the nation compete in a win-or-go-home format until the last team standing is crowned national champion. The madness lies within the journey to get to the champion. Cinderellas emerge, the most hyped teams disappoint and upsets happen. We’ve seen it happen over the years.

Now we’ve seen it again with upstart No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson University shocking East Region No. 1 seed Purdue in the Round of 64 Friday night. It was FDU 63, Purdue 58.

More:FDU pulls off the upset, stuns top-seeded Purdue to advance in NCAA Tournament | 5 takeaways

More:March Madness: FDU's Ansley Almonor 'not going to shy away' from Purdue giant Zach Edey

It's the only the second time a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1.

Let’s take a look back at some of the tournament’s other most shocking and unlikely outcomes.

2022 - Saint Peter's

This is a two-for. Saint Peter's as a No. 15 seed beat Kentucky and then knocked off Purdue.

More:WATCH: Saint Peter's parade hits Jersey City to celebrate March Madness run

2018 - (1) Virginia vs.(16) 16 UMBC

If you’re familiar with NCAA Tourney upsets, you likely know about this Virginia-UMBC game. Let’s set the stage.

Before even reaching the NCAA Tourney, UMBC had to first punch its ticket. The only way for that to happen in a one-bid conference like the American East was to win the conference tournament. So, the Retrievers did exactly that, upsetting No. 1 Vermont and stealing the auto-bid to the Big Dance as the then 27-7 (15-1) Catamounts dropped to the NIT.

But a measly upset over the American East’s best team was just a minor achievement for UMBC. On March 11, 2018, the Retrievers shifted its attention to the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Virginia Cavaliers (31-2). Less than a week later, the Retrievers handed Virginia a 74-54 shellacking, making history by becoming the first 16-seed to ever defeat a No. 1.

2016 - (2) Michigan State vs. (15) Middle Tennessee State

Let’s flashback to the end of the 2016 season. Michigan State was one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball prior to the NCAA Tournament — fourteen straight wins to end the season and a Big Ten Tournament championship.

2013 - (2) Georgetown vs. (15) Florida Gulf Coast

One of the more memorable Cinderella runs took place in 2013, when the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles were the talk of the NCAA Tournament. They were fun and earned the nickname “Dunk City” by throwing lobs and dunking everywhere. Oh, and the Eagles knocked off some pretty good teams, too. One of the unfortunate teams that fell victim to the Eagles’ style was the No. 2 seed Georgetown Hoyas.

2012 - (2) Duke vs. (15) Lehigh

Remember when the upstart Lehigh Mountain Hawks fought hard against the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks back in 2010, only to see their chances slowly slip away in the second half? That was 2010. CJ McCollum was just a freshman, and both he and Lehigh had no NCAA Tourney experience.

Fast forward a couple of years and Lehigh proved it learned its lesson.

Now with experience, CJ McCollum led his No. 15 seed Lehigh Mountain Hawks over the No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

2011 - (1) Kansas vs. (11) VCU

Kansas, the second-most winningest school in NCAA Division 1 history, a program with three national championships, has had some serious hiccups in the NCAA Tournament.

That’s expected though when you’ve played in so many games. A stinker here and there is inevitable. However, that doesn’t make the losses sting any less, especially the ones against the lower seeds. That couldn’t have been truer when the Jayhawks faced VCU in the Elite Eight.

This wasn’t the first round. Kansas wasn’t walking into this matchup against VCU with its guard down. This was the Elite Eight. The Rams had already tasted victory in their First Four matchup against USC. After working their way into the Round of 64, VCU knocked off the higher-seeded Georgetown Hoyas (6) and Purdue Boilermakers (3) by double-digits before edging out Florida State by a point in the Sweet 16.

But while the Jayhawks were well aware of the Cinderella, the VCU momentum was too much. Shaka Smart’s Rams got out the gates fast and led by 14 at the half. Their lead was eventually cut to two points during the second half but it didn’t matter. VCU held on to a 71-61 and became one of the biggest Cinderellas in tournament history.

2008 - (2) Georgetown Vs. (10) Davidson

The year 2008 was precisely when Stephen Curry simply became Steph. Of course, multiple NBA MVPs and championships later, he’s world-renowned. But his talents as a basketball player hit the national scene around this time 14 years ago and there wasn’t much anyone in a different jersey could do to slow him down.

The Hoyas had looked really good, going 15-3 in Big East play and winning seven of their final eight games before reaching the NCAA Tournament. Such success was enough to be awarded a No. 2 seed by the selection committee. But that was nothing compared to what Davidson had done over that same period of time. The Wildcats went on a 22-game winning streak (!) and ran through the Southern Athletic Conference without a loss (20-0).

The Hoyas went up by as many as 17 early in the second half before the Curry takeover began. He scored 25 of his 30 points over the last 14:25 and helped Davidson to one of the bigger upsets of the century.

Georgetown caught Steph at the wrong time and suffered because of it.

2010 - (1) Kansas vs. (9) Northern Iowa

Two words — Ali Farokmanesh.

That’s not to say sharpshooting guard is the only reason that Northern Iowa handed the bracket’s No. 1 overall seed Kansas Jayhawks, but he did score a game-high tying 16 points and hit one of the gutsiest daggers in the many years of the NCAA Tournament.

On paper, this game shouldn’t have been this close, to begin with. The Jayhawks were the top seed of the whole tournament! They had a 33-3 record, six eventual NBA players in the rotation and an expectation that they would roll to the Final Four. Instead they fell to Northern Iowa 69-67 in the second round of the tourney and continue to give KU fans nightmares.

2001 - (2) Iowa State vs. (15) Hampton

You simply cannot talk about the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history without recalling No. 15 seed Hampton’s First Round win over the No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones.

After the Pirates went into the break with a 31-27 advantage, the Cyclones seemingly flipped the switch. The Cyclones took an 11-point lead at around the 13-minute mark before losing it and regaining another 11-point cushion with a little more than eight minutes remaining. But that’s where it all went south for the Clones. Their offense hit a standstill and scored just two points over the final eight minutes, as the Pirates closed on a 14-2 run.

Tarvis Williams delivered the go-ahead shot to put Hampton up with under six seconds to play. Jamaal Tinsley missed the game-winning layup. Steve Merfield gave us one of the best visuals in Tournament history as he raced across the floor in excitement before being lifted into the air by freshman David Johnson.

2012 - (2) Missouri vs. (15) Norfolk State

The Missouri Tigers were probably a one-point overtime loss away from capturing being awarded one of the four No. 1 seeds in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. But as you can see above, those Tigers were given a No. 2 seed, which turned out to be a big deal.

Why was it a big deal? Missouri had the misfortune of facing Norfolk State in its opening game of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans also had the best player in this matchup — it showed.

Kyle O’Quinn scored 14 first-half points to help NFSU even the score at halftime and poured in 12 more in the second half, including a go-ahead and-one to break an 81-81 tie and put the Spartans up for good. Mizzou narrowed the deficit to two and watched a Phil Pressey potential game-winning three bounce off the iron as time expired

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairleigh Dickinson beats Purdue: FDU makes March Madness upset list