On Thursday night in Indianapolis, Saint Peter's became just the 10th program in March Madness history to pull off a 15th-seed upset of a 2nd-seed, as they stunned powerhouse Kentucky in overtime, 85-79, advancing to the Round of 32 in the East Region. Entering the 2022 bracket, No. 15 seeds had an all-time record of 9-135 against No. 2 seeds. The Peacock's win was a bracket-buster.
It's safe to assume that the average college basketball fan had no clue where Saint Peter's campus was before the tip-off. Located along the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey, the Peacocks play in the mid-major Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and the school has nearly 2,300 students. Saint Peter's won its first MAAC title since 2011 last weekend, clinching an automatic bid.
"They did it with toughness. They play a fearless style, and that's what [head coach] Shaheen Holloway has always been," Fox Sports college hoops voice John Fanta explained to The DA Show on Friday. "Being a guy who's in Jersey, I remember when Shaheen was getting courted by Saint Peter's. There were coaches that told him, 'Don't take that job at Saint Peter's. You'd be better off staying on as an assistant coach at Seton Hall than going across town...'
"Holloway bet on himself, and last night was the American Dream, come true. That's what we watched... This is a Peacocks team that, in the MAAC, that's how they played all season long. I think that translated last night... This was a team that played fearless basketball, and Kentucky didn't take them seriously. Timing is everything in sports... And it just goes to show you that, in the NCAA Tournament, there's no event like it, and David can knock off Goliath."
The entire hoops conversation between Fanta and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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