JERSEY CITY, New Jersey. When Adebusuyi “Boo Boo” Shittu entered St. Peter’s University last fall, he didn’t expect this. Not Gene O’Connell, who played on the Peacox team that beat Duke at Madison Square Garden in 1968, nor Brooke Butchie, quarterback for the women’s soccer team, nor Olivia Smith, an outfielder for the softball team who also dates. star quarterback Doug Edert.
None of them, nor the more than 800 other fans who filled the Run Baby Run – yes, that’s what it’s called – in downtown Jersey City, thought the St. “Sweet 16”. NCAA men’s tournament.
But they did. Shock, awe and absolute delight erupted when St. Peters beat the Murray State Racers 70-60 Saturday night. The Peacocks never fell behind from start to finish, and the fans present—a third of the university’s students—continued to applaud throughout the game.
You’d never mistake Run Baby Run for Cameron Indoors, but for one night it was the pinnacle of the basketball fandom. Students strutted like peacocks every time KC Ndefo sank or blocked a shot. Edert’s head appeared whenever he made a major play. Some members of the men’s swim team even stripped down to blue swimming trunks at halftime. Everyone in the arena cheered like it was the biggest game of all time.
Because for St. Peter’s it was.
It was Peacock’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and the first since 2011. The Kentucky upset was the school’s first Big Dance victory. Prior to this year, the biggest win in school history came 54 years ago when the Peacocks beat No. 10 Duke 100–71 on March 18, 1968, in the National Invitational Tournament.
But head coach Shaheen Holloway’s roster for 2022 has changed everything.
“This is the best team St. Peters has ever had, which puts us in second place,” said O’Connell, who was a striker on that 1968 team. “It’s so exciting. I take my hat off to this team. They are fearless. This is amazing”.
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O’Connell watched and encouraged his grandson Harry Bowman. The two always go to St. Peters home games, but Saturday night was special. It was special. And it left the two speechless.
“They have a hell of a coach. He’s an amazing, amazing person,” O’Connell said. “It certainly puts them at stake. Now they can stay there? It depends on the kids.”
Whenever anyone asked Brooke Butchy about the school she goes to, she always explained that St. Peter’s is “just a little school in New Jersey, next to New York.”
That changed on Saturday night.
“Now you don’t have to say that anymore,” said Butchi, the quarterback on the football team. “Now all you have to say is St. Peter’s University and everyone knows what you’re talking about. Our basketball team made us famous.”
Shittu, a freshman majoring in computer science, grew up watching the NCAA tournament. He followed Duke passionately as a child and is a Blue Devils fan to this day. When he arrived at St. Peter’s, he didn’t think of it as a school famous for its sports. He had never even been to a basketball game and didn’t know the team very well. But when he saw the Peacocks shock Kentucky in the first round on Thursday, he couldn’t look away.
“I had never seen them before I came here, so seeing them play as well as they did is crazy to me. I never thought this would happen,” Shittu said. “This is crazy. These guys deserve it. I would never have thought about it.”
The bombast will continue in Jersey City for at least a few more days. The Peacocks will play Sunday Night’s winner between No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Texas. Next week will certainly be a tough matchup, but Peacock fans don’t seem to be too worried about him yet.
“This is crazy for St. Peter’s. Everyone disrespects us,” said Justin Funari, one of the undressing swimmers. But we are here! Saint Peter is here!