COLUMBUS, Ohio — Johnell Davis scored 29 points, Alijah Martin added 14 and Florida Atlantic ended Fairleigh Dickinson's magical moment by outlasting the No. 16 seed 78-70 on Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament.
The ninth-seeded Owls (33-3) needed everything they had to put away the Knights (21-16), who stunned top-seeded Purdue on Friday night in just the second 16-over-1 upset i n men's tournament history.
It will be FAU, not FDU, which will play Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“My team just believed in me,” said Davis, a junior from Gary, Indiana. “It’s just a dream come true."
The Knights couldn't come up with an encore after eliminating Purdue, but not before putting up a fight to the finish. After the final horn, coach Tobin Anderson and FDU's players walked across the floor to thank their fans, most of whom never expected to spend five days in Ohio watching their team make history.
Demetre Roberts scored 20 points and Sean Moore had 14 for FDU, which didn't even win the Northeast Conference tournament before becoming an NCAA team that won't soon be forgotten.
What's the lowest seed to make the Sweet 16?
The lowest seed to ever make it to the Sweet 16 was a 15-seed and that’s happened four times, including this year. Princeton topped Missouri Saturday to make it there, where they'll face Creighton. Saint Peter’s did it in 2022, the year they also made it to the Elite 8. Oral Roberts made it there in 2021. Florida Gulf Coast also did it in 2013, according to NCAA.com.
If you’re wondering about the highest seed to play in the championship game, that would be No. 8. That happened twice, first in 1985 when No. 8 Villanova beat No. 1 Georgetown. In 2014, an eight-seed, Kentucky, made it to the title game but was beaten by seven-seed UConn.
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