Saint Peter’s Basketball makes history as the first-ever 15 seed to the Elite 8
Saint Peter’s Basketball is going to the Elite 8 after beating Purdue in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history!
The NCAA Tournament is known for its fair share of upsets in the first couple of rounds. We’ve had UMBC become the first 16 seed ever to beat Virginia, while Oral Roberts and Florida Gulf Coast became the first sets of 15 seeds to not only win one game in the Big Dance but also another to make the Sweet 16.
Saint Peter’s did that as well in the past week, beating No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 7 seed Murray State. Those games were shocked considering this is a Peacock squad that has little size and not much offense. But hey, they just played out of this world for that 72-hour span.
But it was supposed to end on Friday night in the Sweet 16, against a Purdue squad that featured 7’4 center Zach Edey and backup big man and All-Big Ten playmaker Trevion Williams. As good as KC Ndefo is, he has no chance to hold on.
And yet, Saint Peter’s never believed in that theory. The game was close early on after the Peacocks went inside several times, with Clarence Rupert scoring nine early points. But as expected, the Boilermakers kept throwing the ball inside and forcing fouls, and getting some easy looks.
A four-point halftime lead was supposed to send the message that Saint Peter’s can’t keep up in the second half and that a double-digit run was going to come and end it. And Purdue actually did gon on an 8-0 run midway through the second half to get another lead. But Daryl Banks, the team’s leading scorer on the season, made several key tough shots to keep them always in range.
And on the other hand, Jaden Ivey just struggled. The projected top-10 NBA Draft pick finished with nine points on 4/12 shooting and never could get it going. And that’s the difference between Saint Peter’s and these other teams in the NCAA Tournament. Even when they struggled, there was no quit or willingness to accept that their Cinderella run will end tonight.
Clutch free throws and Purdue missing shots created one of the most unlikely upset stories in all of NCAA Tournament, making the Peacocks the first-ever 15 seed to reach the Elite 8. And their defense will take on either UCLA or North Carolina for a shot at the Final Four.
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But let’s be honest, Saint Peter’s has no shot against either of them. They’re a MAAC school with a little budget and are way out of their league. The story will end Sunday night, just like it was supposed to in the MAAC Tournament, and against Kentucky, and Murray State, and Purdue.
The run will end, but it’ll end on the Peacocks terms. And whoever does eventually beat them, will have to earn it… just like how Saint Peter’s has earned this Elite 8 appearance.