So, who are these guys? The Saint Peter’s Peacocks have captured the hearts of college basketball fans around the country, becoming the first-ever No. 15 seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. The Peacocks have taken down No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 Purdue to reach this point. The Wildcats and Boilermakers, of course, both defeated Carolina earlier in the season. If you aren’t familiar with the Cinderella to end all Cinderellas, here’s a quick rundown:
Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Peacocks finished second in the regular-season MAAC standings, but benefited from No. 1 seed Iona falling early in the conference tournament. Saint Peter’s beat No. 4 seed Monmouth, featuring UNC graduate transfer Walker Miller on the roster and former Tar Heels J.R. Reid and King Rice on the coaching staff, in the MAAC title game to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Home city: Jersey City, New Jersey
Head coach: Shaheen Holloway. Holloway is Jersey through and through, having gone to high school in the state and then to Seton Hall for college. Holloway was a standout player for the Pirates, averaging 17.3 points per game as a freshman in the 1996-97 season. During his senior season, Holloway led Seton Hall all the way to the Sweet 16. Prior to this season, that was the last time a team from New Jersey had reached the tournament’s second weekend.
What’s the history? UNC and Saint Peter’s have never met in basketball before.
Player to watch: Clarence Rupert. A Philadelphia native, Rupert clearly enjoyed his homecoming on Friday night, scoring 11 points in the win against Purdue. Rupert got just his sixth start of the season against the Boilermakers, and it’s easy to see why: at six feet, eight inches, Rupert was one of the only Peacocks to come close to matching up with Purdue’s seven-foot, four-inch center Zach Edey. And Rupert did his job well, holding the big man to just 11 points. The Peacock defense forced Edey to turn the ball over five times. Rupert could very well start again Sunday against Carolina to deal with Armando Bacot. Bacot has two inches on Rupert, but will need to protect the ball against the turnover-hungry Peacocks.
Stats to watch: Despite the Peacocks being relatively undersized, they are one of the better shot-blocking teams in the country. Saint Peter’s blocks 4.9 shots per game, which ranks inside the top 25 in Division I. The Peacocks blocked four shots against the much bigger Boilermakers on Friday night, and have blocked 15 shots through three NCAA Tournament games.
Saint Peter’s also ranks among the country’s most prolific teams in a dubious category: fouls committed. The Peacocks average almost 20 fouls per game, and are averaging 22 per game in the NCAA Tournament. The earlier Carolina can get in the bonus, the better, as the Tar Heels are 19th in the country with a 76.9 team free throw percentage. Carolina only shot 12 free throws against UCLA, which was its lowest total since the ACC quarterfinal win against Virginia earlier this month.
The Peacocks have forced double-digit turnovers in all three NCAA Tournament games, including 14 against Purdue. The Boilermakers turned the ball over on nearly 19 percent of their possessions Friday night, neutralizing their size advantage. Carolina rebounded from an 18-turnover performance against Baylor by only turning the ball over eight times against UCLA. It’s the fourth time in the last seven games the Tar Heels have turned the ball over fewer than 10 times.
Deja vu: From a stylistic standpoint, the Peacocks’ analytics strongly resemble those of UCLA. Saint Peter’s plays at an almost identical pace (66 possessions per game vs. 65 for the Bruins), and their NCAA Tournament run has rocketed their defensive efficiency rating on Kenpom.com into the nation’s top 25. The Peacocks’ offense doesn’t rank nearly as high as UCLA’s, but you don’t have to score that much if your defense holds a team to under 43 percent shooting, which is what Saint Peter’s has done in each NCAA Tournament game.
What are the odds? As of Saturday morning, UNC is an 8.5-point favorite in the game. Carolina has gone 22-4 as the betting favorite this season, most recently in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Marquette, when the Tar Heels closed as four-point favorites and won by 32.
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