Kentucky basketball: Five things to know about the Saint Peter’s Peacocks
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Men’s NCAA Tournament: Previewing Kentucky vs. Saint Peter’s
Click below to view more content from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing Kentucky’s men’s basketball matchup against Saint Peter’s on Thursday night in the NCAA East Regional at Indianapolis.
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Five things to know about the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks, who play the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in a first-round East Region game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday night in Indianapolis.
1. They are really called the Peacocks
Yes, it’s true, Saint Peter’s University is the only school in the nation with the Peacocks as the mascot. The nickname goes back to Michael Reyniersz Pauw, who owned much of the land on which the school was built. Pauw’s last name means “Peacock” in Dutch.
Located in Jersey City, New Jersey, Saint Peter’s College was founded in 1872. The Jesuit, Catholic University of New Jersey was closed in 1918, but re-opened in 1930. It became co-ed in 1966. The school has an enrollment of 3,553.
New Jersey senator Bob Menendez is a gradate of Saint Peter’s. It is also the alma mater of Bobby Hurley Sr., the famed high school coach and father of former Duke point guard and Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley Jr.
2. This is Saint Peter’s first NCAA Tournament in 11 years
Saint Peter’s has been to the Big Dance four times, most recently in 2011. After going 14-6 in the regular season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — second to Rick Pitino and Iona at 17-3 — the Peacocks captured the MAAC Tournament by beating Fairfield 77-63, Quinnipiac 64-52 and Monmouth 60-54.
Saint Peter’s lost twice to Iona in the regular season, 85-77 and 70-61. But Pitino’s Gaels were upset by Rider 71-70 in the league tournament, opening the door for the Peacocks. Saint Peter’s led Fairfield 44-19 at the half before rolling to the first-round win. After trailing 31-30 at the half, it outscored Quinnipiac 34-21 in the second half of the semifinals..
Doug Edert scored 20 points off the bench to lead Saint Peter’s to the win over Monmouth in the MAAC title game. It was the Peacocks’ seventh straight victory. After being 12-11, the team brings a 19-11 record into Thursday night’s game.
3. Shaheen Holloway and John Calipari once shared the same space
The 45-year-old Holloway is in his fourth season as the Saint Peter’s head coach. His teams have gone 10-22, 18-12, 14-11 and 19-11 this season for a 61-56 record overall and a 44-32 record in the MAAC.
A high school star at Saint Patrick in New Jersey, Holloway was the MVP of the 1996 McDonald’s All-American Game, beating out a fellow named Kobe Bryant. Holloway stayed at home and played collegiately at Seton Hall. The Pirates played their home games at the Meadowlands. In fact, Holloway’s time (1996-2000) intersected with John Calipari’s time (1996-99) as head coach of the New Jersey Nets, who also played their games as the Meadowlands.
After playing professionally overseas, Holloway was an assistant for Kevin Willard at Iona. When Willard left for Seton Hall, Holloway followed. Though Holloway had departed for Saint Peter’s, he recruited many of the players on the 2017-18 Seton Hall team that beat Kentucky 84-83 in overtime at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8, 2018.
Holloway has done such a good job at Saint Peter’s, Pitino has endorsed him for the head coach opening at UMass, Pitino’s alma mater and Calipari’s former employer.
4. Saint Peter’s wins with defense
The Peacocks are 118th overall, but 34th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy. They are fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense at 34.3. They are 19th nationally in three-point percentage defense at 29.3.
During its seven-game winning streak, Saint Peter’s has held opponents to 51.7 points per game. Its last six victims have all failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor.
Niagara shot 24.1 percent in a 63-36 lost to Saint Peter’s. Manhattan shot 30.9 percent in a 73-51 loss to the Peacocks. Fairfield shot 25.9 percent, including a 4-of-22 showing from three-point range, in a 57-41 loss in the regular-season finale. Then Fairfield shot 38 percent in the first round of the conference tournament.
In the semifinals, Saint Peter’s held Quinnipiac to 33.3 percent from the field. Monmouth made only three of its 19 three-point attempts in the title game and shot 23.5 percent overall.
5. KC Ndefo is one of the nation’s best shot blockers
The 6-foot-7 senior from Elmont, NY led the nation in blocked shots in 2020-21 with 3.6 per game. He was the shortest player to do so since 2011. This year, he’s averaged 2.7 blocked shots per game. He blocked four shots in the MAAC finals against Monmouth. He blocked six shots against Fairfield in the regular-season finale.
Ndefo entered the transfer portal after last season, but returned to Saint Peter’s two days before school started. He ended up averaging 10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He was MVP of the MAAC Tournament after averaging 13.3 points and 3.3 blocked shots per game. He’s a three-time conference Defensive Player of the Year award winner.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 2:24 PM.
