Fairleigh Incredible: FDU Pulls Off Historic March Madness Upset of Purdue

Posted on: March 17, 2023, 10:50h. 

Last updated on: March 20, 2023, 01:08h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Just go ahead and light your March Madness bracket on fire. That’s about all it’s good for now after Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday became the second 16-seed ever to knock off a 1-seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

FDU_Celly
FDU junior Sean Moore celebrates after he and the 16-seed Knights knocked off top seeded Purdue in a first-round matchup Friday evening in Columbus. The Knights were a 20-1 shot to win straight up, according to several oddsmakers. (Image: FDUKnights/Twitter)

The Knights stunned Purdue 63-58 in a first round game in Columbus, Ohio. While FDU wasn’t the first to pull a shocker, UMBC knocked off Virginia five years ago for that honor. The Knights were 23.5-point underdogs to the Boilermakers before tipoff. That makes them the biggest point spread underdog to score an outright win.

Incredible win for us,” FDU coach Tobin Anderson told reporters after the game. “Incredible win for our program, our school. Hard to put it in words right now. Honestly, it’s really hard to even — it just happened, right?”

It happened alright, and a lucky few made bank, according to the sportsbooks.

That includes Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

Portnoy tweeted a bet slip showing a $4,000 bet on FDU to win straight up at +1400. That produced a $56,000 profit.

Big Payouts for FDU March Madness Upset

Portnoy might want to make room on his throne for other bettors who cashed in. They may not have topped his payday, but they scored better odds.

DraftKings reported one bettor put $250 on the Knights moneyline, +2000. They ended up netting $5,000. Caesars Sportsbook announced someone in Indiana – probably not a Purdue fan or alum – dropped $500 on FDU at the same odds.

Meanwhile, FanDuel said that it had one user who wagered $2,000 on the +2000 moneyline, earning them a tidy $40,000.

The Knights were the biggest underdog, by far, to win this year, but they weren’t the only Cinderella staying around after the first round.

FDU’s upset came just a day after Princeton, another Jersey school, Princeton bounced Arizona from the Big Dance. The Tigers weren’t as big a dog, but the SuperBook reported it offered +800 odds on the upset, while Barstool offered +730.

While there were bettors across the country who scored a big win, ironically, none happened – legally – in New Jersey. While the Garden State created the sports betting boom five years ago, the state prohibited wagers on any of its college teams. That includes when they’re playing out of state.

Tide is High for Alabama

After last Sunday’s selection show, Purdue entered the tournament as the fourth choice at FanDuel, with odds of +1200.

The Boilermakers’ loss appears to be Alabama’s gain. At FanDuel, the Crimson Tide are the +500 favorite to win it all. Last Sunday, they were at +800. Over the same period, DraftKings knocked them down to +450.

If you think Fairleigh Dickinson may have five more wins in them for the season, you might want to check out DraftKings. They offered the underdog Knights at +50000, a far better price than +13000 over at FanDuel.