Who’s Playing
Fairleigh Dickinson @ Purdue
Regular Season Records: Fairleigh Dickinson 20-15; Purdue 29-5
What to Know
The #3 Purdue Boilermakers and the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are set to clash at 6:50 p.m. ET March 17 at Nationwide Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Penn State Nittany Lions typically have all the answers at home, but on Sunday Purdue proved too difficult a challenge. The Boilermakers skirted past Penn State 67-65. Center Zach Edey dropped a double-double on 30 points and 13 rebounds, and this makes it back-to-back games in which he has scored at least 40% of Purdue’s points.
Meanwhile, Fairleigh Dickinson earned some postseason bragging rights after a successful outing on Wednesday. They took their game against the Texas Southern Tigers by a conclusive 84-61 score. Fairleigh Dickinson can attribute much of their success to forward Ansley Almonor, who shot 5-for-8 from downtown and finished with 23 points and eight boards, and guard Grant Singleton, who had 13 points and six assists in addition to seven boards.
A couple defensive stats to keep an eye on: The Boilermakers come into the matchup boasting the 20th fewest points allowed per game in college basketball at 62.7. Less enviably, the Knights have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.70% from the floor on average, which is the 354th highest shooting percentage allowed in college basketball.
How To Watch
- When: Friday at 6:50 p.m. ET
- Where: Nationwide Arena — Columbus, Ohio
- TV: TNT
- Follow: CBS Sports App
Series History
This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last eight years.
