# 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. The Knights lost in the Second Round to eventual Final Four participant Florida Atlantic.
On March 21, 2023, head coach Tobin Anderson left the school to become the head coach at Iona. The same day, the school promoted assistant coach Jack Castleberry to head coach.

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

## 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