It is that time of the year again. March Madness is upon us. The tournament reached unprecedented levels of excitement on Friday night. History was made when Fairleigh Dickinson University defeated Purdue University. A 16-seeded team defeating a No. 1 seed was not a victory that many saw coming. But that’s what fans love about the annual tournament. However, the upsets started a little sooner than usual.
At this time, the basketball world’s focus shifts from the NBA regular season to March Madness. The regular slots reserved for NBA coverage are either shared or completely taken over by March Madness coverage. Meanwhile, a WNBA legend’s antics while presenting the game in the studio went viral.
FDU’s unforeseen victory
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In a stunning upset, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) has made NCAA tournament history by becoming only the second No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the first round. They defeated Purdue with a final score of 63-58 on Friday night, owing to a strong performance in the second half. FDU outplayed Purdue in the second half, with Zach Edey being the only player able to cause a significant impact on the game for Purdue.
However, in the final seconds of the game, he himself had two major turnovers. Sean Moore stepped up for FDU with a game-sealing 3-pointer from the top of the key with just over a minute left on the clock. Moore scored nine points in a row, giving FDU a lead of five points.
Purdue has now lost three consecutive tournament games to low-seeded teams since their Elite Eight appearance in 2019. Purdue’s coach, Matt Painter, now joins Lute Olson and Tony Bennett in losing three games in a row to a team with a seed of 13 or lower.
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Ultimately, FDU pulled off a surprise victory that will be remembered in NCAA tournament history.
Candace Parker couldn’t control herself during the game
WNBA legend Candace Parker couldn’t contain her excitement during the game. She was a co-host for Capital One’s ‘Tournament Central’ show. Seeing her excited reactions, it is safe to say that the events in the game surely surprised her. The showrunners ran a clip of the 2x WNBA champion having various reactions during the game.
However, fans weren’t impressed with Parker’s reactions and they made their feelings clear after the clip was posted online. One fan commented, “Unbelievable levels of cringe“. While another fan wrote, “terrible acting“.
Unbelievable levels of cringe
— PickensBurgh🫡 (Tino) (@PickensBurgh) March 18, 2023
Terrible acting.
— DM (@503_Adventures) March 18, 2023
It wasn’t many of us at all.
— Jim Jones (@MrDontPlay23) March 18, 2023
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There were also others who enjoyed her commentary:
She is a breath of fresh air.
Very impressed with her insights, whoever hired her deserves a lot of credit!— 🇺🇦🌊ronnie casagrande🌊🇺🇦 (@RonnieCasaii) March 18, 2023
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She’s adorable.
— Jim (@Jaime07063438) March 18, 2023
This was also me.
— 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓪 🪽 (@GUCCIBELLUM) March 18, 2023
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With the game taking a surprising turn of events and eventually leading to FDU’s win, it surely kept viewers on the edge of their seats. What are your thoughts on Friday night’s game? Let us know in the comments below.