Strut up: No. 15 Saint Peter’s bracket busting upset over No. 2 Kentucky
Busted brackets aside, day one of March Madness certainly did not disappoint.
With plenty of upsets and overtimes, there was one game that stood out the most.
The 15th seeded Saint Peter Peacocks shocked the nation in an overtime victory against the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, 85-79 on Thursday night.
Considering Kentucky is college basketball royalty and only 3.04% of brackets chose Saint Peter’s, it’s safe to say this stunned a lot of people and broke a lot of brackets.
No. 15 Saint Peter’s celebrating the 85-79 upset over No. 2 Kentucky (USA Today Sports)
It was a tough road to get to the Big Dance for the Peacocks as they had to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament just to punch their ticket, but taking on the Wildcats didn’t faze the small school from Jersey City, New Jersey.
“My guys are not going to be scared, not going to be intimidated, I can tell you that,” Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway said after winning the MAAC Tournament.
“That is something that is instilled in this program. I don’t play that game. So these guys are going to be ready to play.”
This is Saint Peter’s first tournament win in school history.
Down to the wire in regulation
With 16 ties and 13 lead changes, it was pretty much neck-and-neck for the No. 2 and No. 15 match-up.
At the 1:30 mark in the second half, Kentucky was up 68-66 until Saint Peter’s Doug Edert drained a 3-pointer, giving the Peacock’s a 1-point lead, which led Kentucky coach John Calipari to call timeout.
Doug Edert with a three (Getty Images)
After a missed 3-pointer by Kentucky’s Kellan Grady, teammate Oscar Tshiebwe got the offensive board and passed it back to Grady behind the arc, nailing the three.
With 25 seconds left and down by one, Saint Peter’s was still in control as Edert drove into the paint and put up a floater, tying the game at 71-71.
The Wildcats had a chance to win it but TyTy Washington Jr. was not able to hit the jumper.
Heading to OT
In overtime, it was neck-and-neck but with 2:41 seconds left and Kentucky up 75-72 it was Edert AGAIN with another triple to tie it.
From there it was mostly a game of free throws where Kentucky was 1-for-6 while Saint Peter’s was 9-for-11 in overtime.
With 23 seconds left and the Peacocks up by five, it was Washington Jr. for Kentucky hit a three, making it an 81-79 one-possession game.
Kentucky spent the final seconds of OT fouling Saint Peter’s, in an attempt to get quick baskets but could not.
Edert finished the game with 20 points, 2-2 from behind the arc and 8-8 from the free-throw line.
“It feels amazing, truly it feels amazing,” he said after the game.
Daryl Banks III, Saint Peter’s leading scorer with 27 points, shared the same sentiment.
Daryl Banks III, all smiles finished the night with team-high 27-points (USA TODAY Sports)
“It was an amazing feeling,” Banks said. “You grow up you watching March Madness, the tournament, so to let that sink in — knowing the game was over — it felt really good.”
It was definitely a heartbreaking loss for the Wildcats and anyone who had them winning, but it was the Peacocks who came up on top.
Been here before
Holloway is no stranger to upsets or overtimes. In the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, he delivered a game-winning layup in overtime for the then 10th seeded Seton Hall Pirates, beating the seventh-seeded Oregon Ducks.
Prior to getting the head coaching job at Saint Peter’s in 2018, Holloway spent eight years as an assistant coach at his alma mater under Pirates coach Kevin Willard.
“He is going to be the next big thing in coaching because he’s done such a great job at Saint Peter’s,” Willard said.
“Shaheen Holloway is a superstar. So proud of him and proud of his team, (associate head coach and former Seton Hall staffer) Ryan Whalen, and all the guys over there, really happy for those guys.”
Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway (USA TODAY NETWORK)
Despite the fact that I did have Kentucky over Saint Peter’s, as a Jersey native and Seton Hall Pirate, I’m definitely rooting for the underdogs and I’m gladly pulling for the upset. Bracket be darned.
Still Dancing
In a post-game interview, Coach Holloway had this to say about nerves during the nail-biter of a game.
Calm, cool and collected. You love to see it.
Up next, the Peacocks will face off against seventh-seeded Murray State Racers (who narrowly escaped an upset by the San Franciso Dons) on Saturday at 7:45 pm on CBS.
