FDU's Matchup vs. Zach Edey, Purdue Has CBB Fans Worried After Win vs. Texas Southern

Fairleigh Dickinson is headed to the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the second time in five seasons.

Its reward? A daunting matchup against 7'4" Zach Edey and top-seeded Purdue in the East Region.

The Knights defeated the Texas Southern Tigers 84-61 in Wednesday's First Four matchup in Dayton, Ohio. Ansley Almonor led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds as one of all five starters who scored in double figures.

The formula worked against an overmatched Texas Southern team, but social media seemed to think the undersized Knights are going to have trouble in the next round:

Purdue can wait, though, as Fairleigh Dickinson's 361st-ranked defense got the best of Texas Southern's 330th-ranked offense in a matchup between two of the nation's worst units in the KenPom.com rankings.

Something had to give, and it was Texas Southern's offense that came out of the gates the same way it played most of the season. The Tigers missed all seven of their three-pointers in the first half and finished an ugly 1-of-16 from deep.

That stood in stark contrast to Fairleigh Dickinson's balanced attack. It was the outside shooting that set the tone for the victors in the early going, but they started attacking the basket and drawing contact in the second half.

That allowed them to enjoy a 31-9 advantage in free-throw attempts with Joe Munden Jr. and Almonor in particular causing problems for Texas Southern's defense.

Things will surely be more difficult against Edey and the Boilermakers on Friday, but Fairleigh Dickinson was a team in full control throughout Wednesday's contest.

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