What a game, what an upset as 15 seed St. Peters knocked off Kentucky. The Peacocks won their first ever NCAA Tournament game 85-79 in overtime. Westwood One Color Analyst and former Oklahoma State standout Doug Gottlieb said it may well be the biggest upset in tournament history.
A hot shooting night is often a part of the upset equation and that's exactly what St. Peter's had. The Peacocks shot 51% from the floor and 53% from three point range. They also made free throws, especially in the clutch knocking down 85% of their attempts. Kentucky had a rough shooting night hitting 42% overall, 27% from three and 66% from the foul line. They went to the line considerably more but didn't convert.
Another key often to upsets in the tourney is guard play. St. Peters got great performances from their veteran guards. One issue with Kentucky being a largely one and done laced program is having freshmen guards in high pressure games in March. Kentucky Guard Ty Ty Washington is a projected 1st round pick in the NBA draft but he struggled mightily Thursday night. Washington was 2 for 10 from the floor scoring 5 points and had just 1 assist and two turnovers. Kentucky's starting guards turned it over 8 times combined and the Peacocks just 4.
St. Peters got a herculean effort from Darryl Banks, he came in averaging 11.5 and dropped 27 on the Cats. Banks was money, knocking down 9 of 19 shots from the field including 5 of 8 from deep. Very seldom do you see the underdog's bench outscore the favorites, but that's exactly what happened. The Peacock reserves outscored Kentucky's 34-17. That was thanks in large part to the tremendous offensive output from Doug Edert, he had 20 points. Edert was the picture of efficiency, hitting 5 of 8 tries from the floor. He was automatic from the foul line knocking down all 8 of his attempts, several of them in crucial situations late in the game.
Another part of the upset formula is comprising a game plan and executing it. The defensive game plan for St. Peters Coach Shaheen Holloway as well thought out and well executed. The Peacocks knew Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe would get his, he has all year long and did Thursday night. He had a double-double of 30 points and 16 boards. However, the game plan was to cover him 1 on 1 and not double. While the single coverage allowed Oscar to go off, it allowed St. Peter's to stay home on everyone else. That provided less clean looks on kick outs from the double team and also shut down driving lanes because then the defense wasn't scrambling to recover. Any coach will tell you, help and recover is on the hardest principles defensively to teach and execute.
It was an effort for the Peacocks in which , a couple of guys had stellar offensive performances. However, it was a team effort with 10 guys playing 8 or more minutes and 9 of those 10 scoring. I though Matthew Lee's floor game was on point, he only scored 4. But the St. Peter's Guard had 4 assists and just one turnover. He played within himself, made the right reads and defended really well often frustrating Washington.
St. Peters becomes the 10th 15 seed to ever win a game in the tournament, a trend we've seen happen more in recent years. They now will take on a really good Murray State Team on Saturday for a shot at the round of 16. Only two 15 seeds have ever made the round of 16, Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year. Can the Peacocks avoid a let down after such a monumental win? Will St. Peter open up the gates one more for the Jesuit school from Jersey City one more time? That is what makes the NCAA Tournament the greatest postseason sporting event in America. It's why we love it and there's no other event that gives us story lines like this one.