INDIANAPOLIS. St. Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway said early on that he didn’t bring his team to Indianapolis for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament just to come and lose.
Holloway was right.
The Peacocks head to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history after beating Murray State 70-60 on Saturday at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Peacocks will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Texas and Purdue.
“I’m just proud that these guys are playing on a different stage,” Holloway said. “The NCAA Tournament is every kid’s dream. Playing in MAAC is a great tournament, I mean a great league. We play on ESPN+. talent on the big stage. This is what I’m proud of. These guys have worked so hard for this moment. I’m just proud of them.”
With around 2,300 students, St. Peters is still the best team in the tournament so far. The Peacocks shocked Kentucky with a second-place finish in the first round and then led from start to finish, beating Murray State, who entered Saturday with only two losses of the season.
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The Peacocks, who have the longest active Division I winning streak of nine games, join Florida’s Gulf Coast (2013) and Oral Roberts (2021) as the only No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 as the field was expanded to 64 commands. in 1985.
St. Peters won’t have to travel far for the Sweet 16 game because Jersey City, New Jersey, where the school is located, is only 90 miles from Philadelphia.
“For the Sweet 16, again, it’s another quick turn,” Peacocks defenseman Doug Edert said. “And we’re not going to climb too high. What we’ve done is amazing, but that’s in the past and we need to move on and start preparing for the next team.”
In just four seasons, Holloway took the Peacox the farthest they’ve ever been in the tournament. Part of the reason is that his players have adopted the mindset of their head coach. Holloway was a hard-fought player who didn’t back down from anyone during his four-year career at Seton Hall. He even beat the likes of Kobe Bryant to become the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 McDonald’s All-American Game.
“That’s how I played, right? That’s how I played,” Holloway said. “I played 110% all the time. I tell my guys all the time, you give me 100%, I will give you 200%. I was a decent player. I am small. Every time I had to prove something. So I trained in this way… My business is this: it’s a compromise. If you let me work hard on defense, I’ll let you play on offense. This is us.
“Give me what I want in defense, offense, you can go there. You don’t quit playing as me for making offensive mistakes. You are out of the game for making defensive mistakes. this.”
The Peacocks blocked seven shots and held off Murray State with 34.6% shooting, 19 points below their season average.
“I’m going to say this. It will be a little crazy. I have guys from New Jersey and New York,” Holloway said. “Do you think we are afraid of something? Do you think we’re worried about guys trying to drug us and get us through?”