UNC's Caleb Love shows off his range by draining 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. It was 1:45.
About an hour after Saint Peter's March Madness run came to an end against North Carolina, the coach emerged from the locker room. As he walked toward the team bus with his oldest son, he wore a backpack with a yellow tube of Wet Ones in his left pocket.
He was surrounded by trappings of a return to reality. The hallways were filled with arena carts. There were signs with the school's name on them in the locker room. The run to history had shifted to history.
As he left the arena, he looked subdued, and really disappointed in himself, for not adjusting better in the game.
I thought we were going to win the game. No disrespect to them. I thought we could match up with them.
Saint Peter's failed to muster much of a fight against North Carolina. The Tar Heels won 69-49 to advance to their 21st Final Four.
As Saint Peter's became the first 15-seed in NCAA tournament history to reach the Elite Eight, Holloway spoke of not wanting to wake up from the dream. Two weeks ago, the Peacocks thought they had a chance at the Final Four, but fell short.
The prohibitive favorite for the open job at Seton Hall is Holloway. No other candidates have been publicly identified in the search, and it is expected that he will be the coach at his alma mater in the next week.
When asked about the job at the news conference, he brushed it aside, much as he has done the past two weeks.
He said he was not worried about that right now. My job is to cheer them up and make sure they understand what they did. We are going to walk out of here the same way we walked in, with our head up.
Saint Peter's athletic director Rachelle Paul is aware of the reality of the future. His son is named after the dormitory where he and his wife met, because of the deep ties he has to his alma mater. Prior to his four seasons at Saint Peter's, he was an assistant coach for eight years.
The latest available tax documents show that he makes nearly $266,000. He could make nearly 10 times that amount at Seton Hall.
Paul said that they hadn't talked about it at all, and that he was focused on the next game. These things are moving quickly. We will have conversations about it. I will do what I can. I will do whatever I can when it comes up.
The officials, players and coaches of Saint Peter's tried to put into perspective the Elite Eight run. Saint Peter's has the lowest basketball budget in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The school had never previously won an NCAA tournament game.
They shocked the world and will be remembered for that. It is a story within a story. I am proud of these guys. They made history when they came in. Point blank. No one has done it.
The final chapter of the NCAA run will always be a source of disappointment for Saint Peter's. The Peacocks missed open looks, got pushed around in the paint and couldn't force the pace with their pressure-based man-to-man defense. Saint Peter's shot 30% from the field and couldn't stop Brady Manek, who was shooting for 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Saint Peter's senior forward KC Ndefo said that they expected to win the game. We love all of our brothers. There were definitely emotions in the locker room of sadness as we stayed together through it.
As the locker room emptied out, the finality sank in.
Paul said he was proud of the team. Everybody was proud of them. They had the whole country behind them. There is nothing to be ashamed of about them being America's team. Losing hurts; we are all competitive. This was amazing.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
