Saint Peter's improbable and historic run through the NCAA Tournament came to an unsatisfying end on Sunday, as they lost to blue-blood North Carolina by 20 points in the East Region final. Although the 15th-seed Peacocks went out with a whimper, overwhelmed by their opponent, they're now the benchmark for every tournament darling. They're a part of forever.
This journey also turned Saint Peter's head coach Shaheen Holloway into an overnight sensation, and according to reports, he's expected to become the next head coach of his alma mater, Seton Hall. Whoever is named Holloway's successor will have massive shoes to fill, and Washington State head coach Kyle Smith expects the Peacocks' next leader to feel significant pressure.
"It's a great story," Smith told The DA Show on Monday. "[As an assistant with Air Force], we went to Saint Mary's in 2001 and they were 2-27. It was 2,400 students, no geographical location by the name. Same with Saint Peter's -- no one knows where it is. Our first meeting with the athletic director, 'Phew, well I met with the trustees, we're not going D-III.'
"It's along the same lines with Saint Peter's, in Jersey City. John Dunne was [at Saint Mary's] before, who I played against in college and he then went to coach at Marist. He went up in league. Saint Mary's took another job in the league, because it's better facilities and financing. [Saint Peter's run] isn't far different from [Farleigh Dickson] going to the Elite Eight. It's unbelievable."
Smith, who took over as the Cougars' coach back in 2019, helped lead them to a 19-14 regular season record, and they received a 4th-seed in this year's edition of the NIT Tournament. With early-round wins over Santa Clara, SMU, and BYU, Washington State is set to face Texas A&M in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night (9:30 p.m. ET tip) at Madison Square Garden.
The entire Washington State hoops conversation between Smith and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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