Saint Peter’s becomes first No. 15 seed to reach Elite 8 in NCAA history

March 25 is National Peacock Day.

So is it coincidence or destiny that the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks upset the Purdue Boilermakers 67-64 on Friday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament?

With the win, Saint Peter’s also becomes the first No. 15 seed to ever make the Elite 8 in college basketball history.

The Peacocks were just the third No. 15 seed to ever make the Sweet 16 of an NCAA Tournament after upsetting No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 7 seed Murray State in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Purdue had an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer, but the game-tying three from the logo was off.

Head Coach Shaheen Holloway summed it up best:

"What they gonna say now?" 😤

Head Coach Shaheen Holloway and Saint Peter's were fired up after moving on to the Elite Eight pic.twitter.com/V67fBIW6mC

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 26, 2022

Saint Peter’s was led by Daryl Banks III’s 14 points, followed by Clarence Rupert’s 11 and Doug Edert’s 10 off the bench.

Peacocks forward KC Ndefo had four points, four assists and three rebounds before fouling out.

Saint Peter’s now awaits the winner of No. 8 seed North Carolina vs. No. 4 seed UCLA in an Elite 8 matchup on Sunday.

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