For the first time in NCAA men’s basketball history, a No. 15 seed team will play in the Elite Eight.
Saint Peter’s has made history in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Saint Peter’s became the first ever No. 15 seed to qualify for the Elite Eight after a 67-64 victory over No. 3 Purdue.
As expected, the Peacocks brought the intensity right out of the gate. Purdue matched it, leading to a close back-and-forth affair. Saint Peter’s had taken a 23-19 lead, its largest of the first half, with 7:18 remaining, but the Boilermakers flipped the script and made it 33-29 at the end of one.
The second half lacked points for a long time. Purdue went over six minutes without a point as Saint Peter’s perimeter defense stopped everything the Boilermakers tried to run.
Eventually, Trevion Williams made three straight baskets down low to get things flowing for Purdue, and Saint Peter’s had a four-minute scoring drought afterwards.
Purdue kept building various four-point leads during the midway point of the second half, but Saint Peter’s did not let things get out of hand. Instead, the Peacocks flipped the score to 63-59 with 41 seconds remaining as Purdue again went over four minutes without a field goal.
Purdue guard Jaden Ivey made a deep rainbow 3-pointer with eight seconds to go to cut the lead to 65-64, but his last-second attempt to potentially send the game to overtime fell short.
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Daryl Banks III led Saint Peter’s with 14 points on 6 of 14 shooting. Doug Edert provided 10 points off the bench, including a clutch 7 of 8 mark from the charity stripe.
Williams led Purdue with 16 points off the bench while Ivey, a potential top-five pick in the 2022 NBA draft, mustered nine points on 4 of 12 shooting.
Prior to this run, Saint Peter’s had made the Big Dance just three times: 1991, 1995 and 2011. However, all three ended in first-round losses – until now.
Saint Peter’s will now play the winner of No. 4 UCLA and No. 8 North Carolina in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
