If you’re upset about your bracket getting messed up this year, that’s understandable given the number of lower seeds that prevailed in this year’s March Madness. Yet, there was one Cinderella that college basketball fans couldn’t help but to root for and that team was Saint Peter’s. Saint Peter’s entered the tournament as a 15 seed and had to play basketball powerhouse Kentucky in the first round. The expectation was that they would lose mightily to the Wildcats and that was a reasonable assumption to make considering that a 15 seed had only upset a 2 seed nine times in the history of the NCAA Tournament heading into the 2022 edition. Yet, they not only played close against Kentucky, they prevailed in overtime to advance into the second round. Little did we know that this would be the beginning of a historic run for the Peacocks of Saint Peter’s as they would advance all the way to the Elite Eight and set the record for the lowest seed to ever advance that far.
So, how did America’s underdog get this far? Well, here’s a closer look and it actually started before the tournament even began:
- The regular season
- The 2021/22 season was the 4th for Shaheen Holloway as head coach at Saint Peter’s
- The first three seasons for Holloway were rather lackluster.
- Saint Peter’s went 10-22 in his first year, and finished 9th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
- His second season was better as they went 18-12 in the regular season, but the MAAC conference tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. So, we don’t know what would’ve happened had there been postseason play.
- In his third season, Saint Peter’s went 14-11 and finished 3rd in the MAAC Conference, and once again failed to make the Tournament.
- For the 2021/22 season, Saint Peter’s went 22-12 and finished the regular season 2nd in the MAAC behind the Iona Gaels, and thus was the 2 seed in the MAAC Conference Tournament, but given that the MAAC is a weaker conference, Saint Peter’s would have to win the conference tournament to secure an NCAA berth.
- MAAC Conference Tournament title
- Heading into the 2022 MAAC Tournament, the top seeded team was Iona led by Head Coach Rick Pitino. Certainly, a team coached by the great Rick Pitino must be a lock to win the conference tournament and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament right? Apparently not. Iona lost to Rider in the MAAC Tournament. This opened the door for the rest of the conference.
- Saint Peter’s answered the call. They beat Fairfield in the quarterfinals, Quinnipiac in the semifinals, and Monmouth in the championship game to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This would be the 4th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
- Peacocks prior tournament record
- The Peacocks entered the tournament as a 15 seed and were 0-3 in their previous three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
- They weren’t very competitive in those games. They’re closest game came in the 1991 Tournament as they were a 12 seed and lost to 5 seed Texas Longhorns 73-65.
- They returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 as a 15 seed, but lost handily to UMass 68-51.
- Saint Peter’s would not return to the NCAA Tournament again until 2011. They were a 14 seed and lost to 3 seed Purdue 65-43
- So, Saint Peter’s isn’t a basketball team. They’re doomed to failure every time, right? Wrong.
- The shocking run
- Saint Peter’s entered the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a 15 seed and opened up against the University of Kentucky.
- So, we know that a 15 seed has beaten the 2 seed only nine times in NCAA Tournament history, Saint Peter’s has put together poor showings in their previous three NCAA Tournament appearances, and Kentucky is led by John Calipari, so this is a lock for the Wildcats. Not exactly. Saint Peter’s took the Wildcats to overtime and delivered the most shocking upset in the 2022 tournament. It was Saint Peter’s first NCAA Tournament win.
- Saint Peter’s took care of Murray State 70-60 in the 2nd round to become the 3rd 15 seed all-time to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. The other teams were Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts in 2021. Certainly, this was it for the Peacocks. Wrong, again.
- In the Sweet Sixteen, Saint Peter’s edged Purdue 67-64 to become the first 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight, and the lowest seeded team in NCAA Tournament to advance that far.
- The unfortunate ending
- After shocking the college basketball world, and busting plenty of March Madness brackets on their way to the Elite Eight, America’s underdog came up short of the Final Four after suffering a heavy defeat against North Carolina 69-49.
There are two different narratives surrounding the amazing run by the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. The first one being that their run could and should serve as inspiration for other 15 seeds to put together strong performances and believe in themselves in future tournaments.
The other narrative is that of doom and gloom, and there’s two parts to that. The first part in doom and gloom is that 15 seeds or other double digit seeds are destined to eventually lose a game in the tournament as the competition gets tougher the deeper you go and that no seed 9 or lower has ever won a national championship. The other part of doom and gloom is that future 2 seeds will step up their game in 1st round games in order to prevent teams like Florida Gulf Coast, Oral Roberts, and Saint Peter’s from even having a chance to make a deep run.
Regardless of the way you choose to view the Peacocks’ unexpected run to the Elite Eight, you have to give them the proper respect they so rightfully deserve. They have a coach that instilled a belief system in his players that allowed them to get to the Elite Eight, and this mentality is something other coaches need to adopt if we are to see another underdog story like this one moving forward.
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