Saint Peter’s run through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament has been nothing short of amazing for a school that no one knew about one week ago. After defeating Kentucky and Murray State, the Peacocks are in the Sweet 16 to face the three seed Purdue Boilermakers on Friday night in Philadelphia.
In their wins last week, Saint Peter’s used tough defense and timely shooting to take down higher-ranked teams. The more significant surprise win of the two they picked up was Kentucky, but the formula worked for both the Wildcats and Murray State. They will have to use the same strategy against a Purdue team that has struggled against physical teams this season.
Scouting Report for Purdue
The Boilermakers come into Friday’s game as a 12.5-point favorite over Saint Peter’s. Purdue is also the fourth-best three-point shooting team in the nation, led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivy, who shoots 36 percent from beyond the arc. The Peacocks have done a great job of defending the three, holding Kentucky and Murray State to 27 and 33 percent shooting in their first-round games. The Peacocks will have to play that kind of perimeter defense against Purdue.
Purdue may also have an Achilles heel regarding physicality. In their seven losses this season, a few of those losses came to teams that play a physical style of basketball. Teams like Michigan, Indiana, and Rutgers gave the Boilermakers fits at various points this season. Not calling Purdue soft, but for Saint Peter’s, they will need to show that New York/New Jersey style of basketball to Purdue early to take the Boilermakers out of their game.
Besides Ivy and his 18 points per game, Saint Peter’s will have to watch for Zach Edey. The 7’4” center gave Yale and Texas fits in Purdue’s first two games and will be causing havoc in the middle. Despite the Peacocks being undersized, you could see a combination of Fousseyni Drame, Hassan Drame and KC Ndefo take turns guarding Edey and being physical with the big man.
How Saint Peter’s Can Continue The Run
Saint Peter’s has the advantage over Purdue when it comes to depth. Head coach Shaheen Holloway has pushed the idea of playing 10-12 players deep during his time with the school, with everyone getting minutes at some stage of the game. So far in the tournament, you have seen the bench get even deeper with early Ndefo foul trouble forcing Holloway to insert center Oumar Diahame into the game, who gave the Peacocks critical minutes against Kentucky.
The game will come down to which team can hit the big shots late, and Saint Peter’s has done so to this point of March Madness. Doug Edert and Daryl Banks III have been stone cold shot makers when the Peacocks needed them to hit shots. The key will be to get Edert and Banks, along with Matthew Lee, good looks which will mean that Saint Peter’s needs to create more shots down low to create an inside-outside game against Purdue.
Thanks for coming to practice today, @GovMurphy 🏀#StrutUp🦚 pic.twitter.com/VNDbtlwioB
— Saint Peter’s Athletics (@SPUAthletics) March 21, 2022
The main thing for Friday’s game will be for the Peacocks to remain focused. There is much noise about the program, most notably Holloway’s future with school after Kevin Willard left Seton Hall for Maryland. The team has a new level of notoriety, so it would be easy for the team to take what they have done and stop there. This experience will be the highest point of their basketball careers for most, if not all, of these players. They must remember that and want this journey to continue past Friday night.
It will be an uphill battle for Saint Peter’s, but anything is possible, as they have proven in this NCAA Tournament. Purdue better bring their hard hats on because Saint Peter’s will be ready to work.
How To Watch Saint Peter’s vs. Purdue
Watch 15 seed Saint Peter’s take on three seed Purdue on Friday at 7:09 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
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