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.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won 75-71 victory over Southeast Missouri to advance to the NCAA tournament where they will face no.1 seed Alabama in the South Region.

The Islanders held off SEMA in the First Four matchup of no.16 seeds, having led 33-27 at half-time with Jalen Jackson top scoring with 22 points and six rebounds, while Isaac Mushila managed 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The triumph was a first-ever NCAA tournament game win for Texas, who were without guard Terrion Murdix due to a left knee injury.

SEMA had squared the game up at 64-64 with 3:07 to play but could not maintain the rage. Chris Harris top scored for the Redhawks with 23 points.

Pittsburgh also advanced via their First Four game, claiming their first victory at an NCAA tournament since 2014, getting past Mississippi State 60-59 in a see-sawing contest.

Jamarius Burton came up with a go-ahead two-point pointer with 10 seconds remaining and Pitt held on to clinch a clash with no.6 seed Iowa State in the Midwest Regional.

Shakeel Moore missed an open three-pointer to win the game for Mississippi, with D.J. Jeffries unable to convert the tip-in attempt.

Nelly Cummings top scored for the Panthers with 15 points with three rebounds and four assists, while Dashawn Davis also had 15 points with five assists for the Bulldogs.