In the words of CBS announcer Ian Eagle, “Cinderella lives!” Appearing in March Madness for only the fourth time in school history, Saint Peter’s scored a monster upset Thursday in Indianapolis, getting the better of second-seeded Kentucky in an overtime thriller. The MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) champs were led by junior guard Daryl Banks III, who erupted for a career-high 27 points as Saint Peter’s became just the tenth 15-seed to advance to the Round of 32.
Maybe this wasn’t Kentucky’s year to cut down the nets, but that doesn’t make UK’s collapse any less flabbergasting, losing to a little-known school in New Jersey that had never won a tournament game until Thursday night. The Wildcats have only themselves to blame, squandering a late lead in a game where Kentucky shot just 23-of-35 from the free-throw line (65.7 percent) with 13 turnovers.
We’ve seen plenty of brackets destroyed in the early going with Kentucky, Iowa (No. 5 seed), UConn (5) and Colorado State (6) all meeting their demise in what has already been a chaotic opening round of March Madness. History obviously isn’t on the Peacocks’ side, though we did see a 15-seed reach the Sweet 16 as recently as last season (Oral Roberts). Saint Peter’s will await the winner of Thursday’s nightcap between seventh-seeded Murray State (alma mater of Grizzlies All-Star Ja Morant) and No. 10 San Francisco.
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