Saint Peter's historical and improbable journey through the NCAA Tournament came to a sudden end on Sunday night, as the nation's lovable underdog ran out of magic against North Carolina in the East Region final. From the opening tip-off, the Peacocks looked overwhelmed, and their early double-digit deficit was clearly insurmountable.
But for three tournament games, the moment wasn't too big for Saint Peter's. They pulled off the most impressive run by a 15th-seed in tournament history, reaching heights that no 13-seed or lower ever reached before. The program will forever be remembered as one of sports' greatest Cinderella stories, and Jersey City plans to celebrate its hometown stars with a parade this Friday.
"We're all competitors. We went into that game thinking that we were going to win," Saint Peter's guard Daryl Banks III told the Maggie and Perloff show on Tuesday. "Coach [Holloway] told us we should walk out the way we walked in, with our heads held high. Because we did something that was never done before... It didn't really set in, what we accomplished in the moment.
"But when we got back [from Philadelphia], everyone congratulated us and let us know that what we did was really special. And we're kind of putting it into perspective now... It's setting in now more than ever. Since we're done, we're walking around and getting noticed by people on the street. Driving cars are honking at us. People come up to us. It's just so surreal and amazing."
The Peacocks' tournament ride turned head coach Shaheen Holloway into an overnight sensation, and according to reports, the Queens native is expected to leave the school and become the next leader of his alma mater, Seton Hall. What does this mean for Saint Peter's future? The MAAC school is at least on the map, and 10 of their contributors have eligibility for next season.
If Holloway takes the Pirates job, he could try to bring some of his old players with him, via the transfer portal. Perhaps he'd like to keep mentoring Banks III, who averaged a team-high 11.3 points in 34 games. The 6-foot-3 junior racked up 54 tournament points, and half of them came during the first-round against 2nd-seed Kentucky.
The entire Saint Peter's conversation between Banks and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Maggie and Perloff Show on Twitter @MaggieandPerl and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.