Fousseyni Drame of Saint Peter’s celebrates during the second half of the Peacocks’ 67-64 win over Purdue in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Philadelphia. Chris Szagola/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Doug Edert hopped on the press table and punched his fist in the air toward a delirious section of Saint Peter’s fans – aren’t they all? – as his teammates thumped their chests, waved eight fingers and turned the scene into one perfect Peacock party.
Edert’s giant leap toward the roaring crowd might have been his only mistake of the night.
“You jumped on a table?” Coach Shaheen Holloway asked later, then paused for some serious side-eye for comedic effect.
C’mon, Coach. Let the Peacocks strut their stuff.
The upsets aren’t over yet and the tiny commuter college in Jersey City, New Jersey, is still making March history. Next stop, the Elite Eight, a first-time destination for a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re making history,” Edert said. “We’re looking forward to making more history.”
Daryl Banks III scored the tying and go-ahead baskets that pushed Saint Peter’s to the brink of the Final Four, the suddenly popular Peacocks thriving off a home-court edge to beat third-seeded Purdue 67-64 on Friday night.
The Peacocks (22-11) added the Boilermakers to their string of upsets and will face eighth-seeded North Carolina in the East Region final on Sunday.
Saint Peter’s had the fans inside the packed Wells Fargo Center on its side from the opening tip, and the arena erupted when Banks tied the game at 57-all on a turnaround jumper. He hit a driving layup with 2:17 left that made it 59-57.
The Peacocks kept their composure – hey, they’re used to these wins by now after knocking off No. 2 seed Kentucky and seventh-seeded Murray State – and held off a Purdue team that gamely tried to bully them inside.
“What they going to say now?” Holloway said about his team’s doubters, a group whose numbers are dwindling.
The Boilermakers (29-8), 12 1/2-point favorites according to FanDuel Sportsbook, never led by more than six.
Almost 30 years to the day that Duke’s Christian Laettner stunned Kentucky with an overtime buzzer-beater to win a regional final at the since-razed Spectrum, Purdue and Saint Peter’s pulled off their own Philly classic.
Saint Peter’s fans made the 93-mile ride south to help pack the arena and give the Peacocks more of an edge than they usually have at their bandbox known as Run Baby Run Arena. Consider, just 434 fans were listed as the total attendance for the home opener this season against LIU.
More than that turned out to give the team a Sweet 16 sendoff from campus this week.
“Everybody wanted tickets. I can’t get tickets for everybody,” Holloway said. “I’ll tell you what, man, I can’t believe the support that we’re having. This is unbelievable. Jersey City has been unbelievable for us.”
Even more basketball fans – yes, even those whose brackets the Peacocks help bust – were suddenly rooting for Saint Peter’s, an unassuming campus just across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan.
Jaden Ivey buried an NBA-distance 3 with 8 seconds left that pulled Purdue within 65-64 and momentarily shushed the crowd.
No worries. Edert, whose wispy mustache and goofy persona earned him a fast-food chicken endorsement deal, sank two free throws, and Purdue missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Edert then led the madness on the court and took it to the table. He saluted fans in the first few rows as the rest of the Peacocks mobbed each other and hugged before they gathered at the basket to celebrate – one more time – the biggest win in program history.
“Yeah. I found a little opening and started moving stuff,” Edert said of his table hop. “I don’t know, I was so excited.”
The Peacocks dropped and made snowmen on the court and soon there was a huge celebration of fans jamming the concourse chanting “S-P-U! S-P-U!”
They were the third No. 15 seed ever to reach the Sweet 16. Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year both failed to reach the regional final.
Meanwhile, a Final Four berth remains elusive for Boilermakers Coach Matt Painter and his perennial Big Ten contender.
Banks led the Peacocks with 14 points, Clarence Rupert scored 11 and Edert had 10.
Trevion Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds for Purdue.
NORTH CAROLINA 73, UCLA 66: Caleb Love hit tying and go-ahead 3-pointers 37 seconds apart and North Carolina moved within a victory of its 21st Final Four, beating UCLA in a matchup of power programs.
Love, a sophomore, finished with a career-high 30 points, including six 3s and two game-clinching free throws with 7.8 seconds left. He scored 27 of Carolina’s 45 points in the second half, including one stretch of 10 straight that kept the Tar Heels (27-9) in the game.
Nobody stood out more than Love, who was held to five points in last week’s win over Baylor, but managed one point more than that during the decisive 37 seconds. His go-ahead 3 came with 1:03 left and marked the last of 14 lead changes in the game that was also tied eight times.
Fourth-seeded UCLA (27-8) fell two wins short of its 20th Final Four. Last year’s season ended on a shot from near half court by Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs. This time, Love did in the Bruins, who got 16 points from Jules Bernard and 15 from Tyger Campbell.
MIDWEST REGION
KANSAS 66, PROVIDENCE 61: Remy Martin scored a season-high 23 points and the Jayhawks (31-6) did their part as the only No. 1 seed left in the tournament, holding the Friars (27-6) to 17 first-half points and hanging on for a victory in Chicago to reach the Elite Eight.
The Jayhawks made it farther than fellow No. 1 seeds Gonzaga and Arizona, both ousted in the Sweet 16, and Baylor, whose title defense ended in the second round. They will face either Miami in the Midwest Region final on Sunday.
Jalen Wilson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who are back in a regional final for the first time since 2018, when they reached their 15th Final Four. Coach Bill Self is seeking his fourth trip there since he arrived in 2003.
The Jayhawks led by 13 points early in the second half, let it slip away, and then regrouped. Fourth-seeded Providence took a short-lived one-point lead, but Kansas responded by scoring seven straight.
Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji scored a season-low five points. But with Martin and Wilson leading the way, the Jayhawks won their eighth straight since a 74-64 loss at TCU on March 1.
Al Durham led Providence with 21 points. But the Friars shot 33.8% and made 4 of 23 3-pointers as their best run since reaching the regional finals in 1997 under Pete Gillen came to an end.
MIAMI 70, IOWA STATE 56: Kameron McGusty scored 27 points and Miami advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time, using its swarming defense to beat Iowa State.
Jordan Miller added 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting as No. 10 seed Miami more than held its own in a matchup of two of the tourney’s most suffocating defenses. The 11th-seeded Cyclones shot 32% from the field in the second half and finished with 18 turnovers.
With Charlie Moore directing the attack in his hometown, the Hurricanes (26-10) got their first win in the school’s fourth appearance in the Sweet 16.
Iowa State (22-13) rode its hard-nosed defense into the Midwest Region semifinals after it had just two wins last season. It forced 14 turnovers after Miami turned it over seven times in the first two rounds, but the Hurricanes shot 46% from the field. The Cyclones allowed 33.3% shooting over their first two tourney games.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
