2022–23 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball team represented Fairleigh Dickinson University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights, led by first-year head coach Tobin Anderson, played their home games at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, New Jersey as members of the Northeast Conference. They finished the regular season 17–14, 10–6 in NEC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed in the NEC tournament, they defeated St. Francis Brooklyn in the quarterfinals and Saint Francis (PA) in the semifinals. In a unique circumstance, the semifinal between Saint Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson decided the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament because Merrimack was in a transition period from Division II to Division I and ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. The Knights lost in the championship game to Merrimack, but still earned a No. 16 seed in the East region. In the First Four, they defeated Texas Southern to advance to the First Round. There they became only the second No. 16 seed ever to upset a No. 1 seed by defeating Purdue, in the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history in terms of point spread.^[1] The Knights lost in the Second Round to Florida Atlantic.

2022–23 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	21–16 (10–6 NEC)
Head coach	Tobin Anderson (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Jack Castleberry Tom Bonacum Kam Murrell
Home arena	Rothman Center
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Merrimack*†	12	–	4		.750			18	–	16		.529
Fairleigh Dickinson^	10	–	6		.625			21	–	16		.568
Stonehill**	10	–	6		.625			14	–	17		.452
Saint Francis (PA)	9	–	7		.563			13	–	18		.419
Sacred Heart	8	–	8		.500			16	–	17		.485
Wagner	8	–	8		.500			15	–	13		.536
Central Connecticut	7	–	9		.438			10	–	22		.313
St. Francis Brooklyn	7	–	9		.438			14	–	16		.467
LIU	1	–	15		.063			3	–	26		.103
* ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period
** ineligible for both the 2023 NEC tournament and the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition period
^ received automatic bid for the 2023 NCAA tournament as conference tournament runner-up, due to Merrimack's ineligibility
† 2023 NEC tournament winner

On March 21, 2023, head coach Tobin Anderson left the school to become the head coach at Iona.^[2] The same day, the school promoted assistant coach Jack Castleberry to head coach.^[3]

Previous season

The Knights finished the 2021–22 season 4–22, 5–13 in NEC play to finish tied for last place. As the No. 8 seed, they were defeated by Central Connecticut in the first round of the NEC tournament.^[4]

On April 25, 2022, the school announced that they were parting ways with head coach Greg Herenda after nine years at the position.^[5] On May 2, Tobin Anderson, head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas, was named as the Knights' next head coach.^[6]

Roster

2022–23 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 1 Joe Munden Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Jr Harlem, New York G 2 Demetre Roberts 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) GS Mount Vernon, New York G 3 Heru Bligen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Glenn Dale, Maryland G 4 Grant Singleton 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 163 lb (74 kg) GS Sumter, South Carolina F 5 Ansley Almonor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) So Spring Valley, New York F 11 Sean Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Columbus, Ohio G 12 Sébastien Lamaute 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec F 13 Jo'el Emanuel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Fr Suffern, New York F 14 Pier-Olivier Racine 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Jr Gatineau, Quebec F 21 Cameron Tweedy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 222 lb (101 kg) So Waldorf, Maryland G 22 Trevon Blassingame 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 173 lb (78 kg) Fr Auburn, Washington G 24 Brayden Reynolds 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F 25 Daniel Rodriguez 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Newark, New Jersey	Head coach Tobin Anderson (Wesleyan) Assistant coach(es) Jack Castleberry (VMI) Tom Bonacum (Ramapo) Kam Murrell (Memphis) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 1, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 7, 2022* 8:00 pm, NBCSCHI+/ESPN+		at Loyola–Chicago	L 82–88 OT	0–1	Gentile Arena (3,609) Chicago, IL
November 9, 2022* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Mercy (NY)	W 106–66	1–1	Rothman Center (335) Hackensack, NJ
November 13, 2022* 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Manhattan	W 77–74	2–1	Rothman Center (336) Hackensack, NJ
November 18, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. SIU Edwardsville Longwood MTE	L 78–79	2–2	Willett Hall (173) Farmville, VA
November 19, 2022* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Longwood Longwood MTE	L 83–99	2–3	Willett Hall (1,321) Farmville, VA
November 20, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. VMI Longwood MTE	W 93–89	3–3	Willett Hall (132) Farmville, VA
November 22, 2022* 8:30 pm, ACCN		at Pittsburgh	L 61–83	3–4	Petersen Events Center (5,455) Pittsburgh, PA
November 27, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Peter's	L 63–77	3–5	Run Baby Run Arena (532) Jersey City, NJ
November 30, 2022* 7:00 pm		at Hartford	L 66–74	3–6	Chase Arena (288) West Hartford, CT
December 3, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Joseph's	W 97–80	4–6	Hagan Arena (1,162) Philadelphia, PA
December 9, 2022* 7:00 pm, SNY/ESPN+		at Columbia	W 76–73 OT	5–6	Levien Gymnasium (527) New York, NY
December 11, 2022* 2:00 pm, NEC Front Row		NJIT	W 73–71	6–6	Rothman Center (437) Hackensack, NJ
December 13, 2022* 7:00 pm, MASN/ESPN+		at Richmond	L 48–77	6–7	Robins Center (5,004) Richmond, VA
December 22, 2022* 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Queens	L 73–82	6–8	Rothman Center (950) Hackensack, NJ
December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Merrimack	W 71–63	7–8 (1–0)	Rothman Center (559) Hackensack, NJ
December 31, 2022* 12:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Centenary (NJ)	W 99–50	8–8	Rothman Center (232) Hackensack, NJ
January 5, 2023 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at St. Francis Brooklyn	W 76–57	9–8 (2–0)	Pratt ARC (225) Brooklyn, NY
January 7, 2023 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		LIU	W 101–89	10–8 (3–0)	Rothman Center (548) Hackensack, NJ
January 14, 2023 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Central Connecticut	W 88–80	11–8 (4–0)	William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,021) New Britain, CT
January 16, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Stonehill	W 65–57	12–8 (5–0)	Merkert Gymnasium (706) Easton, MA
January 20, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Sacred Heart	L 85–92	12–9 (5–1)	Rothman Center (276) Hackensack, NJ
January 22, 2023 6:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Stonehill	L 59–70	12–10 (5–2)	Rothman Center (1,115) Hackensack, NJ
January 26, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Saint Francis (PA)	W 87–82	13–10 (6–2)	Rothman Center (1,003) Hackensack, NJ
January 28, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Merrimack	W 78–71	14–10 (7–2)	Hammel Court (833) North Andover, MA
February 4, 2023 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		Wagner	L 79–83	14–11 (7–3)	Rothman Center (1,075) Hackensack, NJ
February 9, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at LIU	W 80–79	15–11 (8–3)	Steinberg Wellness Center (275) Brooklyn, NY
February 11, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Central Connecticut	L 73–77	15–12 (8–4)	Rothman Center (519) Hackensack, NJ
February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Sacred Heart	L 86–94 OT	15–13 (8–5)	William H. Pitt Center (828) Fairfield, CT
February 18, 2023 4:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Wagner	W 66–48	16–13 (9–5)	Spiro Sports Center (606) Staten Island, NY
February 23, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Saint Francis (PA)	L 72–82	16–14 (9–6)	DeGol Arena (798) Loretto, PA
February 25, 2023 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 86–69	17–14 (10–6)	Rothman Center (923) Hackensack, NJ
NEC Tournament
March 1, 2023 7:00 pm, NEC Front Row	(2)	(7) St. Francis Brooklyn Quarterfinals	W 83–75	18–14	Rothman Center (887) Hackensack, NJ
March 4, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN3	(2)	(3) Saint Francis (PA) Semifinals	W 70–50	19–14	Rothman Center (1,207) Hackensack, NJ
March 7, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN2	(2)	at (1) Merrimack Championship	L 66–67	19–15	Lawler Arena (2,214) North Andover, MA
NCAA Tournament
March 15, 2023* 6:40 pm, truTV	(16 E)	vs. (16 E) Texas Southern First Four	W 84–61	20–15	UD Arena (12,431) Dayton, OH
March 17, 2023* 6:50 pm, TNT	(16 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 3 Purdue First Round	W 63–58	21–15	Nationwide Arena (19,564) Columbus, OH
March 19, 2023* 7:45 p.m., truTV	(16 E)	vs. (9 E) No. 25 Florida Atlantic Second Round	L 70–78	21–16	Nationwide Arena (19,566) Columbus, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern.

Sources^[7][8]

References

1. Boone, Kyle (March 18, 2023). "Fairleigh Dickinson upsets Purdue as second 16-seed to defeat 1-seed in men's NCAA Tournament history". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
2. Singelais, Mark (March 21, 2023). "Former Siena assistant Tobin Anderson hired as Iona men's basketball coach". Times Union. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
3. Jackson, Wilton (March 21, 2023). "NCAA Tournament Darling Acts Quickly to Replace Coach Poached After Historic Upset". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
4. "#8 Knights Fall to #9 Central Connecticut in NEC Tournament Opening Round Matchup". FDU Knights Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
5. "Greg Herenda out at Fairleigh Dickinson after nine years as head coach". nj.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
6. "Fairleigh Dickinson University hires new men's basketball coach from D-2 ranks". northjersey.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
7. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". FDU Knights Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
8. "2022-23 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 1, 2022.