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The NCAA tournament has historically provided several Cinderella stories where even the 16 seed has upset more illustrious opponents, giving the CBB fraternity an underdog to root for.
There have been several records broken in the past, but has there ever been a 16 seed in the Sweet 16 before?
Has there ever been a 16 seed in the Sweet 16?
In the history of the NCAA tournament, there have been several upsets, the biggest being the 1985 Villanova Wildcats knocking off the No. 1 and reigning national champions, the Georgetown Hoyas of Patrick Ewing.
There has never been a 16 seed in the Sweet 16 in the history of the tournament, but the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights almost made history with their run in last year's tournament.
Fairleigh Dickinson's fairytale run
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights were not even supposed to be at the NCAA tournament, but they only got in on a technicality.
Although they lost their Northeast Conference Tournament title game to Merrimack College, Fairleigh Dickinson was the chosen team because the Warriors were in the midst of a four-year reclassification process from Division II to Division I.
That made them ineligible for the NCAA tournament, making the Knights the automatic representatives of the Northeast Conference.
The Knights then beat the No. 1 seeds, the Purdue Boilermakers, who had National Player of the Year, Zach Edey in their ranks, to make for a sizzling start to March Madness.
After an 84-61 win against Texas Southern, FDU coach Tobin Anderson sent a defiant message to their more illustrious opponents, which proved prophetic.
"I want Purdue to see this. The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them," Anderson said. "Let's go shock the world. Enjoy this one, be humble."
They were the second 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed at the NCAA tournament, after the UMBC Retrievers beat the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers 74-54 in 2018 during the first round for the biggest shock in the storied history of the tournament.
Fairleigh Dickinson lost to Florida Atlantic 78-70 in the second round, on the verge of making history by being the first 16 seed to make it into the Sweet 16.
Diminutive prospect, Demetre Roberts and first-year coach, Tobin Anderson were given the plaudits for the Knights' upset and competitive showing at March Madness, but the pace of their play unsettled higher seeded teams.
The Knights' run is one of the reasons why March Madness is so popular in the CBB fraternity and was widely appreciated on social media.
