Doug Eddyrt jumped onto the press table and punched his fist in the air at this section of St. Peter’s fans – aren’t they all? – While his colleagues beat their chests and flashed eight fingers as the chaos became a perfect peacock party.
Edert’s giant leap toward the roaring crowd was probably his only mistake at night.
“Did you jump on a table?” asked trainer Shaheen Holloway later, then paused for some serious side eyes for comedic effect.
Come on, coach. Let the peacocks strut their stuff.
The turmoil isn’t over yet and a small transfer college in Jersey City, New Jersey, continues to beat all expectations in March. Next stop: Elite Eight, a first-time destination for No 15 seeds in NCAA Championship.
“We’re making history,” Edert said. “We’re looking forward to making more history.”
Daryl Banks III scored the pecking and flare dynasties that propelled St. Peter one step closer to the fourth final, and the famous Peacock suddenly blossomed from the edge of the local courts to beat third-seeded Bordeaux 67-64 Friday night.
The Peacocks (22-11) have added the Boilermakers to their turmoil streak and will face North Carolina in the Eastern Conference final on Sunday.
Saint Peter’s had fans inside the crowded Wells Fargo Center on its side of the opening party and the arena erupted when Banks tied the game 57-all on a turning jump. He hit a corner kick with 2:17 left making it 59-57.
The Peacocks kept their composure—hey, they’re used to these victories now that they had defeated number two Kentucky and seeded seventh Murray State—and stopped Team Purdue who bravely tried to bully them inside.
“What will they say now?” Holloway spoke of the skeptics on his team, a group whose numbers are dwindling.
The Boilermakers (29-8), the favorites with a 12-and-a-half point lead and no lead by more than six.
Nearly 30 years from the day Christian Latner, Duke, surprised Kentucky by hitting overtime to win a regional final in the devastating Spectrum ever since, Perdue and St. Peter have pulled off their Philly classics.
Saint Peter’s fans traveled 93 miles south to help pack up the arena and give the Peacocks an edge than they normally have in the band’s box known as the Run Baby Run Arena. Keep in mind that only 434 fans are listed as the total attendance for the opening game at St. Peter’s Ground this season against LIU.
More than that was to give the team a great farewell from campus this week.
“Everyone wanted tickets. I can’t get tickets for everyone,” said Holloway. “I’ll tell you what, man, I can’t believe the support he was having. this is unbelievable. Jersey City has been great for us.”
More basketball fans—yes, even those whose arches were helped by a peacock—suddenly began rooting in Saint Peter’s, a modest college campus across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan.
Jaden Ivey buried three runs in the NBA with eight seconds left, dragging Purdue within 65-64 and momentarily silenced the crowd.
No worry. Edert, who has a light mustache and goofy personality I earned him a fast food chicken endorsement dealSink two free throws to win.
Then Eddert drove crazy on the court and took him to the table. He greeted fans in the first few rows as the rest of the peacocks huddled together and cuddled before gathering in the basket to celebrate – once again – the biggest win in program history.
“Yes. I found a little hole and started moving things,” Edert said of his table jumping. “I don’t know, I was so excited.”
Peacocks fell and made snowmen on the field and soon there was a huge celebration of fans chanting in the lobby chanting “SPU! SPU!” St Peter’s students and fans celebrated as if they had won a championship. Saint Peter hasn’t won an NCAA Championship game, and now, they’ll go on dancing for at least one more game.
The school is small. The players are young. Does not make sense. However, that’s what March is all about, right?
Peacock was the third seed No. 15 to reach the Sweet 16. Florida Gulf Coast in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year failed to reach the regional final. Only two of the twelve seeded women made it to a regional final.
Meanwhile, the Final Four berth remains elusive for Boilermakers coach Matt Painter and his perennial Big Ten rival.
“I wish I could have trained better, I wish we could play a little better,” Pinter said. “But that’s part of the competition.”
No. 8 North Carolina 73, No. 4 UCLA 66
Caleb Love had a throw-in and a three-pointer by 37 seconds, and North Carolina advanced with a win in the 24th Final, defeating UCLA in an inter-program competition.
Love, a sophomore, finished with 30 points, including six three-pointers and two free throws, by 7.8 seconds. Carolina’s 27 scored 45 points in the second half, including one 10-point pass that kept Tar Heel (27-9) in the game.
Love’s three forward signal came with 1:03 left and featured the last 14 changes up front in the game which were also tied for eight.
Fourth seed UCLA (27-8) fell with two under-20 wins in the Final Four. Last year’s season ended A shot from a semi-court By Galen Suggs of Gonzaga. This time, love fell on Bruins, who got 16 points from Jules Bernard and 15 from Tyger Campbell.
No. 1 KS 66, No. 4 Providence 61
Remy Martin scored a season-high 23 points, and Kansas played as the only remaining top seed, keeping Providence at 17 points in the first half and holding it to reach the Elite Eight.
The Jayhawks (31-6) will face Miami on Sunday.
Galen Wilson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who returned to a regional final for the first time since 2018, when they reached their 15th final. Coach Bill Self is looking for his fourth trip there since arriving in 2003.
Kansas is also ahead of Kentucky for the most wins in Division I history with a score of 2,354.
The Jayhawks took a 13-point lead early in the second half, letting them slip, and then regrouping. Fourth-seeded Providence (27-6) briefly led by one point, but Kansas responded by scoring seven goals in a row.
The dirham scored 21 points for the brothers who paid 33.8%.
No. 10 Miami 70, No. 11 Iowa 56
Cameron McGusty scored 27 points and Miami advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time, using their strong defense to beat Iowa State.
Jordan Miller added 16 points on a 6-of-6 shot as 10th-ranked Miami held more than its counterpart in a match between two of the tournament’s most choked defenses. The 11th-ranked Hurricanes fired 32% of the field in the second half and finished with 18 turns.
With Charlie Moore directing the attack in his hometown, the Hurricanes (26-10) took their first win in the school’s fourth appearance at Sweet 16.
Iowa State’s Gabe Kalshore scored 13 points (22-13), while freshman Therese Hunter scored 13 points and seven assists. Isaiah Brookington finished with 11 points and had seven rebounds.
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