Fairleigh Dickinson Takes Down Purdue, First No. 1 Seed Falls
Things hadn't gone Tennessee's way in recent weeks. They lost star guard Zakai Zeigler to an ACL tear and had a disappointing performance in the SEC Tournament against Mizzou. However, things have gone their way to begin the NCAA Tournament.
The Vols defeated Louisiana in the first round of the tournament and will take on No. 4 seed Duke on Saturday. The Blue Devils will be a challenging task; they won the ACC Championship and looked dominant in their first-round win over Oral Roberts. If Tennessee can get past Duke by some chance, things will seemingly get easier.
No. 1 seed Purdue lost to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday evening, just the second time in tournament history a No. 16 team has beaten a No. 1 seed. The first instance came a few seasons ago when UMBC beat the Virginia Cavaliers.
Zach Edey, Purdue C
The Boilermakers were No. 1 in the AP Poll for most of the season; big man Zach Edey is a favorite to win the Wooden Award, given to college basketball's top player. Despite their impressive resume, many were down on Purdue entering the tournament, given their difficulties dealing with physical teams.
It certainly won't be easy to beat Duke; however, Tennessee already beat the AP's No. 1 team this season, Alabama. Anything is possible in March, especially when you have luck on your side. We will find out quickly if the Vols do indeed have luck.
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