Controversial rule revisited after stunning March Madness upset

For just the second time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, a No. 16 seed took out a No. 1 seed in the first round.

Fairleigh Dickinson led Purdue by one at halftime. The top-seeded Boilermakers seemed to restore order in the second half, opening up a 47-41 lead. But the Knights battled back and took a lead into the final minutes.

Purdue tried to get back into the game, but couldn’t. Fairleigh Dickinson went up by five points in the final seconds and came away with the shocking 63-58 win.

Coming out of the small Northeast Conference, the Knights lost 15 games during the regular season. What’s even crazier is that they didn’t even win the NEC Conference Tournament. That honor went to Merrimack, who defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the final.

But the Warriors were ineligible for the tournament — and not because of anything they did wrong. This was Merrimack’s fourth season in Division I basketball. A controversial rule states that a team switching divisions is ineligible for postseason play for four seasons — even if the move is up.

It’s also worth remembering that Merrimack didn’t only win the NEC Tournament. The Warriors were also the best team in the regular season, finishing with a 12-4 conference record, two games ahead of Fairleigh Dickinson.

Things were clearly working in the Knights’ favor this season.

[Photo Credit: TNT]