AP Photo/Chris Szagola
The lowest seed in the history of the NCAA men's basketball tournament has made it to the Elite Eight after a 67-64 win over Purdue on Friday.
The Peacocks became the 10th No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed in the tournament. They defeated Murray State in the second round.
The second top-three seed in the East Region has been stunned by Saint Peter's. The Boilermakers won their first two games to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
When they had the ball, the Peacocks had a balanced attack. The pace was set by Daryl Banks III. Clarence was the only other starter to score in double-figures.
Banks had two crucial buckets on back-to-back possessions to put his team back on top.
With one minute left, Drame had a huge offensive rebound that allowed St. Peter&s to run more time off the clock.
Jaden Ivey had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but his three-pointer hit off the front of the rim.
Notable game statistics
Defense Lifts Peacocks.
It can be difficult to take any grand lessons from what St. Peter&s has done, but head coach Shaheen Holloway's halftime adjustments are a good starting point.
The strength of Saint Peter has been on the defensive side. It ranked 19th in points allowed per game and ninth in defensive rating.
The unit was huge on Friday night. The ball was taken away from the Boilermakers nine times.
Ja Morant @JaMorantst. peter's 👀👀
During the regular season, he averaged 4.3 points per game and led the team with three steals. He came up with two blocks, including one on a Williams jumper that kept the score at 56-54.
Kyle Tucker @KyleTucker_ATHEverything about Saint Peter's defies logic. Clarence Rupert played the ninth-most minutes for the Peacocks this season. He averaged 4.3 points.He has 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half against Purdue. It's 27-all, 3:46 1H.
Crazy.
The Peacocks have not been shooting the ball well. They made 50.9 percent of their field- goal attempts against Kentucky, but have shot a combined 9 of 34 from behind the 3-point line.
Murray State had more steals and blocks than St. Peter's.
The surprise team of the tournament looked like it was going to run out of luck in the first half. It only shot 12-of-31 and scored 29 points.
The Boilermakers put 33 points of their own. The defense found a rhythm after the break. The Boilermakers had four turnovers and were shut out for the first 5:48 of the second half.
Saint Peter's has scored 17 points after halftime in three tournament games, including the overtime period against Kentucky.
The Peacocks are playing on National Peacock Day when the stars align.
Sam Vecenie @Sam_VecenieBack on December 8, Saint Peter’s lost at home to the 322nd-ranked team in the country, St. Francis, to fall to 2-5 on the season. The listed attendance at that game, per ESPN? 464 people for 14% capacity. They fell to 218th nationally, per KenPom.
The season is never over.
Jon Rothstein @JonRothsteinThings you didn't think you'd tweet: St. Peter's is one win away from the Final Four.Anarchy?
Nope. Just College Basketball.
The Peacocks aren't going to have as much talent as anyone they are going up against in this tournament, but they have a formula to maximize all of the things their players do well.
It worked in wins over Kentucky and Murray State. The Peacocks will go to New Orleans for the Final Four if it continues to work on Sunday.
Boilermakers season ends because of shooting Woes and Turnovers.
The start of the second half was a sign of trouble for the Boilermakers. The offense turned the ball over four times and was held without scoring for the first 5 minutes.
Saint Peter's scored eight straight points to take a 37-33 lead. The head coach called a timeout to regroup.
The Boilermakers responded with an 8-0 run of their own to go back up by four points.
Williams was the biggest change during that run. He scored six of those points after being held to two in the first half.
Things would get for Purdue, but that would be about as good as it would get. It never led by more than two points in the second half.
The Boilermakers never led the game again after Banks jumper tied the game.
In the past two games, he averaged 20 points on 50 percent three-point shooting. In the loss, the sophomore committed six turnovers. He did not have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in the tournament.
Sam Vecenie @Sam_VecenieI know Saint Peter’s is making it tough, but Purdue needs Jaden Ivey to handle his shit here and take over. Iso him on an emptied out side of the floor, run a 1-5 high ball screen at 25 feet or so to let Trevion be a short roll option. Open up the lane/mid post area for Jaden
Bobby Marks @BobbyMarks42Saint Peter’s made uncomfortable for Jaden Ivey.
I thought he was extremely passive tonight. https://t.co/vhHE6g8Thw
Edey had two rebound and five turnovers. He was averaging over 10 per game in the tournament.
Sam Vecenie @Sam_VecenieI know Zach Edey’s size is a real advantage on offense, but I don’t think he’s nearly good in space or aware enough in man-to-man defense to be able to manage Saint Peter’s intricate sets on offense. He’s not dominating SPC on offense to overcompensate for the defense.
The entire starting five had a rough time against the Saint Peter's defense. He made three three-pointers and shot 50 percent overall, but all 11 of his points came in the first half.
Williams had five points in a row for the Boilermakers as the two teams continued to trade haymakers.
Taylor Tannebaum @TaylorTannebaumPurdue senior Trevion Williams was 1/5 in the 1st. Now 6/8 in the 2nd. His quote from Thurs:
“You look at the past couple years & you've slipped up, you've came short, whether it's you've lost in the 1st round or something off the court (COVID)..we just can't let it slip away.”
Hunter got to the free-throw line nine times. He only attempted four field goals on Friday and did not get to the line.
For most of the season, the Boilermakers were a top 10 team in the nation, but they had no answers for the defense of Saint Peter's. A disappointing tournament exit for the team and a lot of roster questions going forward.
The Boilermakers' recruiting class is currently ranked sixth in the Big Ten.
They could go to the NBA. Edey is an intriguing draft prospect, but he is still very raw as a player and could use at least one more year in school.
What is next?
The winner of the East Regional will play the winner of the South Regional at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
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