Florida Gulf Coast crushes Fairleigh Dickinson in First Four game

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Florida Gulf Coast made Georgetown and San Diego State look bad three years ago in a historic run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed few college basketball fans had ever heard of before.

With an almost entirely different cast of characters and coaches, the Eagles were back at it Tuesday night, tipping off the NCAA tournament with a breezy victory over an outmanned and very young Fairleigh Dickinson team that pulled off a surprising upset in the Northeast Conference tournament to get to the Big Dance.

Midway through the first half of the First Four game, it was clear the Knights didn’t have the size or athleticism to compete with the Eagles, who won 96-65 to advance to a meeting with East Region No. 1 seed North Carolina.

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It was the most lopsided outcome in the brief history of the First Four portion of the tournament.

Under former Kansas assistant Joe Dooley, this FGCU team plays a different brand of basketball than the style that earned the 2013 team the ‘Dunk City’ moniker. But Dooley’s Eagles might be one of the most talented No. 16 seeds ever to play in the NCAA tournament.

A No. 16 seed has never upset a No. 1 seed and it’s unlikely to happen this year, but it seems the No. 16 seed that eventually breaks through will need the size and athleticism to hang with one of college basketball’s powerhouse programs. Florida Gulf Coast has at least that much on its side.

Junior forward Marc Eddy Norelia led the Eagles with 20 points and 10 rebounds, dominating in the paint and helping FGCU shoot 60 percent in the game. Forward Demetris Morant scored 10 points and combined with Norelia to go 15-for-17 from the field.

The Eagles finished the game with 27 assists on 34 made field goals and out-rebounded the Knights by 19.

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Fairleigh Dickinson has made the NCAA tournament five times now and is still looking for its first victory. The Knights are the third-youngest team in the nation without a senior on the roster and seem to have a good chance of returning to dance again in the near future with their top eight scorers being freshmen and sophomores. They got here by pulling off a surprising run through the Northeast Conference tournament.

But once they were on the court with Florida Gulf Coast, they couldn’t find open shots and struggled to find ways to score beyond hitting perimeter shots.

FGCU led 23-6 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half and ultimately held the Knights to just 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. It was the lowest-scoring half of the season for Knights.

The only thing that go right for the Eagles in the first half was their 3-point shooting. They went 2-for-11 behind the arc.

Sophomore Earl Potts Jr. led Fairleigh Dickinson with 16 points. Marques Townes scored 13.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo