Fairleigh Dickinson coach Tom Green summed up the Knights’ first-round NCAA matchup against top-ranked Illinois in a hurry.
“They are definitely feeding us to the lions,” Green said.
“I didn’t think we’d be facing No. 1. They are an exceptional team. They’ve beaten everybody they’ve faced except Ohio State and that was a one-point loss.”
Fairleigh Dickinson (20-12) won the Northeast Conference Tournament on Wednesday night, beating Wagner 58-52, to earn its first NCAA tournament berth since 1998. The Knights also beat St. Francis of N.Y. and Long Island University in the tournament.
“To be in the NCAA Tournament is a big reward for the guys,” Green said. “They earned it this year. They worked very hard to come through the conference tournament and win three big games. They deserve it.”
Now comes a huge test against the Illini (32-1) on Thursday in Indianapolis.
“The top four to eight teams are all great,” junior forward Gordon Klaiber said. “They’re all going to play hard so it doesn’t matter who we play. We’re going in there with complete confidence, believing in each other.”
Fairleigh Dickinson is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. No Northeast Conference team has ever won a first-round game.
“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” senior guard Tamien Trent said. “Basketball is fun to me, no matter who I’m playing against. I’m going to play to the best of my ability and I feel we can upset those guys.”
– – –
THE SEASON
Regular season
11/19 Delaware State W, 87-67
11/21 Florida A&M W, 91-60
11/24 Oakland W, 85-54
11/27 Gonzaga W, 89-72
12/01 Wake Forest W, 91-73
12/04 at Arkansas W, 72-60
12/06 Chicago State W, 78-59
12/09 at Georgetown W, 74-59
12/11 Oregon W, 83-66
12/19 Valparaiso W, 93-56
12/22 at Missouri W, 70-64
12/27 Longwood W, 105-79
12/30 N’western State W, 69-51
12/31 Cincinnati W, 67-45
1/05 Ohio State W, 84-65
1/08 at Purdue W, 68-59
1/12 Penn State W, 90-64
1/15 at Northwestern W, 78-66
1/20 Iowa W, 73-68
1/25 at Wisconsin W, 75-65
1/29 Minnesota W, 89-66
2/01 at Michigan State W, 81-68
2/06 Indiana W, 60-47
2/08 at Michigan W, 57-51
2/12 Wisconsin W, 70-59
2/16 at Penn State W, 83-63
2/19 at Iowa W, 75-65
2/23 Northwestern W, 84-48
3/03 Purdue W, 84-50
3/06 at Ohio State L, 65-64
Big Ten Tournament
3/11 vs Northwestern W, 68-51
3/12 vs. Minnesota W, 64-56
3/13 vs. Wisconsin W, 54-43
– – –
THE ROSTER
ILLINOIS
fightingillini.com
Roster / Pts. / Reb. / Ast.
40 James Augustine, F, 6-10, 230, Junior / 10.2, 7.3, 1.3
11 Dee Brown, G, 6-0, 185, Junior / 13.8, 2.6, 4.5
41Warren Carter, F, 6-9, 210, Sophomore / 2.7, 2.0, 0.1
4 Luther Head, G, 6-3, 185, Senior / 15.9, 4.1, 3.8
50 Jack Ingram, F/C, 6-10, 245, Senior / 3.9, 2.6, 0.4
33 Rich McBride, G, 6-3, 215, Sophomore / 3.0, 1.5, 0.9
34 Fred Nkemdi, F, 6-5, 235, Senior / 0.7, 0.3, 0.1
43 Roger Powell, F, 6-6, 235, Senior / 12.0, 5.3, 0.3
55 Shaun Pruitt, F, 6-8, 245, Freshman / 1.5, 1.0, 0.0
45Nick Smith, C, 7-2, 250, Senior / 3.8, 2.4, 0.7
5 Deron Williams, G, 6-3, 210, Junior / 12.3, 3.7, 6.6
