Saint Peter's Upsets Purdue, Becomes 1st No. 15 Seed to Advance to Elite Eight
Cinderella is still at the ball, as Saint Peter's has become the lowest seed in history to reach the Elite Eight after a 67-64 win over Purdue in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Friday.
The Peacocks became just the 10th No. 15 seed in tournament history to beat a No. 2 seed when they beat Kentucky in the first round last week. They advanced to the second weekend with a victory over Murray State in the second round.
Purdue becomes the second top-three seed in the East Region that has been stunned by Saint Peter's. The Boilermakers cruised through the first weekend with wins over Yale and Texas to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
The Peacocks had a very balanced attack when they had the ball. Daryl Banks III set the pace with 14 points. Clarence Rupert was the only other starter scored in double-figures (11).
After Purdue took a 57-55 lead late in the second half, Banks had two crucial buckets on back-to-back possessions to put his team back on top.
Hassan Drame had a huge offensive rebound with one minute remaining that allowed St. Peter's to run more time off the clock. Matthew Lee made two huge free throws after being fouled to extend the lead to 63-59 with 41 seconds left to play.
Jaden Ivey had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but his three-pointer hit off the front of the rim to send St. Peter's on to the Elite Eight.
Notable Game Stats
- Daryl Banks III (Saint Peter's): 14 points (6-of-14 FG), 3 rebounds
- Clarence Rupert (Saint Peter's): 11 points (5-of-8 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 steals
- Trevion Williams (Purdue): 16 points (7-of-15 FG), 8 rebounds
- Sasha Stefanovic (Purdue): 11 points (4-of-8 FG), 4 rebounds
Opportunistic Defense Lifts Peacocks
Trying to take any grand lessons from what St. Peter's has done to make it this far can be difficult, but head coach Shaheen Holloway's halftime adjustments are a good starting point.
Saint Peter's strength all season has been on the defensive end. It ranked 19th nationally in points allowed per game (62.2) and defensive rating (92.4), per Sports-Reference.com.
That unit stepped up huge on Friday night. The Boilermakers committed 15 turnovers and had the ball stolen away from them nine times.
Rupert, who averaged 4.3 points per game during the regular season, led the team with three steals to go along with his 11 points. He also came up with two blocks, including one on a Williams' jumper with 4:23 remaining that kept the score 56-52.
The Peacocks haven't been shooting the ball great during this tournament. They did make 50.9 percent of their field-goal attempts against Kentucky, but have shot a combined 43-of-107 (9-of-34 from behind the arc) in wins over Murray State and Purdue.
Murray State had more steals (seven to five) and just as many blocks (seven) as St. Peter's did.
In the first half against Purdue, it looked like luck might have finally run out for the surprise team of the tournament. It only shot 12-of-31 and scored 29 points going into the intermission.
But the Boilermakers left the door open by only managing to put 33 points of their own. The Peacocks defense found a rhythm right out of the break. Purdue had four turnovers and was held scoreless for the first 5:48 of the second half.
Counting the overtime period against Kentucky, Saint Peter's has outscored its opponents by 17 points after halftime in three tournament games.
Sometimes the stars just align so the Peacocks are playing on National Peacock Day.
The Peacocks aren't going to have as much talent as anyone they are going up against in this tournament, but Holloway and his staff have found a formula to maximize all of the things their players they do well.
It has worked in wins over Kentucky, Murray State and now Purdue. If it continues to work on Sunday, the Peacocks' historic run will continue with a trip to the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for the Final Four.
Shooting Woes, Turnovers End Boilermakers' Season
The start of the second half was the first real sign of trouble for Purdue. The offense committed four turnovers and was held scoreless for the first 5 minutes, 48 seconds coming out of the break.
During that period, Saint Peter's rattled off eight straight points to take a 37-33 lead. Head coach Curtis Painter called a timeout to get his team to regroup.
The Boilermakers responded with an 8-0 run of their own to go back up by four points and seemingly calm the storm.
The biggest difference during that run was Williams. He scored six of those points after being held to two in the first half.
That would be about as good as things would get for Purdue. It never led by more than four points in the second half.
After Banks' jumper with 3:18 remaining tied the score, the Boilermakers never led in the game again.
Ivey, who averaged 20 points on 50 percent three-point shooting in the past two games, struggled to find his shooting touch. The sophomore continued to have struggles with turnovers, committing six in the loss. He didn't have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in three tournament games.
Zach Edey committed five turnovers and only had two rebounds. He was averaging 9.5 rebounds per game in the tournament coming into Friday.
Purdue's entire starting five had a rough go of things against a tenacious Saint Peter's defense. Sasha Stefanovic made three three-pointers and shot 50 percent overall, but all 11 of his points came in the first half.
Starting with six minutes left in the second half with Saint Peter's leading 52-51, Williams had five consecutive points for the Boilermakers as the two teams continued to trade haymakers.
Eric Hunter Jr. had 11 points and got to the free-throw line nine times against Texas. He was held scoreless on Friday, only attempted four field goals and didn't get to the line once.
Purdue played like a top-10 team in the nation for most of the season, but it had no answers for Saint Peter's defense in this game. The end result is a disappointing tournament exit for the team and a lot of roster questions going forward.
The Boilermakers' 2022 recruiting class currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten, per 247Sports composite rankings.
Ivey and Williams could end up going to the NBA. Edey's size makes him an intriguing draft prospect, but he's still very raw as a player at this point and could use at least one more year in school.
What's Next?
Saint Peter's will play the North Carolina-UCLA winner in the East Regional final on Sunday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
