Iona did not take long to replace departed Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, turning to the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament.

Tobin Anderson has been rewarded for leading 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson into the second round with one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

FDU defeated Purdue, who had won the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament, in what Anderson described as "one of the most unbelievable stories of all".

Anderson had garnered attention even before that first-round game, telling the Knights after a play-in win: "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world."

He and FDU delivered on that, although their run ended in the second round against Florida Atlantic, losing 78-70.

And that was the end of the road for Anderson at Fairleigh Dickinson as his appointment at Iona was confirmed on Tuesday.

The Gaels moved swiftly to name a new coach after Pitino left for St. John's this week.

"We are very excited to introduce Tobin Anderson as Iona University's men's basketball head coach," said Iona director of athletics Matthew Glovaski.

"We have long known him to be a fantastic coach and an even better person. Now, with his team's impressive run in the NCAA tournament, everyone paying attention to March Madness also knows this.

"We're delighted that he will be at the helm of our men's basketball programme."

Fairleigh Dickinson delivered on coach Tobin Anderson's pre-game optimism as they beat Purdue, but he was not content to settle for "one of the most unbelievable stories of all".

FDU became just the second 16-seed ever to advance at the NCAA Tournament with Friday's sensational 63-58 win.

Purdue had won the regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament this year, but Anderson was confident his underdogs could cause an upset.

Indeed, following the Knights' win in their play-in game, Anderson told the team: "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world."

FDU did exactly that, with the coach gushing in his latest post-game message to his players – while he also outlined a desire to keep this fairytale run going.

"We outplayed them for 40 minutes, we were the better team for 40 minutes," Anderson said.

"Our style was tremendous. We played how we had to, we played how we had to play. Unbelievable team effort, unbelievable approach.

"Listen, you just made history boys. You just made friggin' history, college basketball history tonight. After four wins last year, this whole team together... it is one of the most unbelievable stories of all – and that's all on you guys.

"Listen, we're playing pretty damn well now. Hydrate, do all the stuff we have to do, and we can do something even more.

"Hey, we are going to enjoy this, and I am so proud of you. What an unbelievable, special moment for the rest of our lives."

This will go down as perhaps the biggest upset in March Madness history, yet it also felt painfully familiar for Purdue.

The Boilermakers lost to 15-seed Saint Peter's last year, becoming the first team to lose consecutive NCAA Tournament games against 15-seeds or worse – excluding the First Four.

Purdue coach Matt Painter acknowledged his team would have to "sit in it", adding: "There's nothing you can say that's going to change it, right?

"I mean, it stinks. They outplayed us. They out-coached us. I think that's the one thing as a coach that you always face, and you'll get ridiculed. You'll get shamed, you'll get whatever.

"It's basketball. You've got to get better. You've got to keep fighting to get yourself in this position and then be better. And that's what we have to do."

Boilermakers center Zach Edey had been one of the most dominant players in college basketball this year, averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, but his 21 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks were not enough.

There will be discussion now around Edey's future amid doubts about his suitability to the NBA, with Painter saying his "level-headed" star would "take the information in and make a decision and do what's best for him".

The coach added: "He's a good dude. It's too bad. He deserves better than this. He deserves better."

The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights made history on Friday as they knocked off one-seed Purdue 63-58 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

In doing so, FDU became the second 16-seed in tournament history to advance into the second round, joining the 2018 UMBC Retrievers.

Adding to the unlikeliness of their upset, the Knights are the shortest team in all of division one basketball this season – among 363 teams – and they had to deal with seven-foot-four National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey.

Edey still had his way, scoring 21 points on seven-of-11 shooting while adding 15 rebounds and three blocks. He became the first player in tournament history to put up those numbers and still lose, dating back to when blocks became an official stat in 1986.

It was the only shocking upset of the day, although the six-seed Iowa State Cyclones were totally outmatched in their 59-41 defeat at the hands of the 11-seed Pittsburgh Panthers.

Despite a quiet game from the top NBA prospect in action Friday – Keyonte George – the three-seed Baylor Bears had no issue sending home the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 74-56. 

George, a six-foot-four freshman guard, is averaging 15.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists as a starter on a quality outfit, but he had just nine points against the Gauchos as the Baylor starters got an early rest.

The most eye-catching individual performance of the day came from reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, with the six-foot-nine senior piling up 25 rebounds in the six-seed Kentucky Wildcats' 61-53 triumph over the 11-seed Providence Friars.

Tshiebwe finished with 11 offensive rebounds to go with 14 on the defensive end, adding eight points, three steals and two blocks.

The other top seeds in action all survived and advanced, with two-seed Marquette beating 15-seed Vermont 78-61, three-seed Gonzaga getting the better of Grand Canyon 82-70, and three-seed Xavier surviving an early scare to overcome Kennesaw State 72-67.

Arizona State piled on 53 first-half points on their way to a 98-73 rout of Nevada to secure their passage into the stacked West Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Sun Devils guard D.J. Horne top scored with 20 points, shooting four-of-five from three-point range, while Desmond Cambridge Jr added 17 points with six assists on Wednesday.

Arizona shot at 63.6 per cent from the field in an outstanding offensive display, winning their No.1 First Four round game to set up a first-round clash with No.6 seed NCU on Friday.

The Sun Devils finished with the highest points total in a First Four game, with head coach Bobby Hurley calling it a "complete performance".

"You want to be playing this way at this time of year," Hurley said. "That’s what it’s all about.

"I truly believe that our schedule and the games we’ve been in, especially late in the season, prepares you for these types of games and it was across the board, just everyone contributed. Our defense was outstanding in the first half."

Fairleigh Dickinson triumphed 84-61 over Texas Southern in their First Four round game, with the No.16 progressing to face East Regional No.1 seed Purdue.

Forward Ansley Almonor scored a game-high 23 points on five-of-eight three-point shooting with eight rebounds for the Knights.

John Walker III was impressive for the Tigers with 22 points on nine-of-17 shooting from the field, with four rebounds.