Saint Peter's bringing its New Jersey swagger to Sweet 16: 'Different type of toughness'

PHILADELPHIA – The sound of basketballs hitting hardwood reverberated through an empty Wells Fargo Center a few minutes before 9 a.m. Thursday, as Saint Peter’s took the court for practice.

A packed house is expected to be squarely behind the underdog Peacocks in Friday’s men's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 showdown against Purdue.

The Peacocks (21-11) have shown a certain swagger in the tournament. That attitude, along with unexpectedly strong play, create a compelling combination.

“Just being on this coast, being in New York and New Jersey, you have a different type of toughness, a different type of swagger that you play the game of basketball with,” junior guard Daryl Banks said. “As far as a chip on your shoulder, it’s just a different breed of basketball, and that is what all of us are embracing.”

“The chip on our shoulder is just getting bigger and bigger. We’re still trying to prove ourselves. We’re not satisfied with anything right now,” junior guard Doug Edert said.

The pride of Jersey City is taking the City of Brotherly Love by storm, fresh off wins over blue blood Kentucky and red hot Murray State. Now the Peacocks look to become the first 15th seed or higher to advance to the Elite Eight.

“Doing what we’re doing right now is going to go down in history. All the hard work we put in is paying off – we’re not done yet,” Banks said.

Ultimate underdogs

Beyond their seed, Saint Peter's roster is a collection of under-recruited, overlooked players who have come together under coach Shaheen Holloway. 

“Typically, those are the type of kids I like to recruit, guys who are under-recruited, have a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. Tough, hard-nosed kids, tough-minded,” Holloway said.

That mentality will be put to the test against a Purdue (29-7) team that lost to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament championship game and was ranked No. 1 earlier this season.

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While the one-game-at-a-time mantra remains intact within the program, the enormity of what’s happening is beginning to sink in. The last time a team from the New York metropolitan area played in the Sweet 16 was the 2000 Seton Hall team that Holloway led as a senior point guard.

“It means everything,” Holloway said. “It’s funny; everybody keeps talking about my team that played 22 years ago – it’s great, you try not to think about that, I try not to put that kind of pressure on the team... But if that could happen it would be tremendous, unbelievable. Not just for New Jersey but just for the tri-state area to have a team representing it in the Elite Eight.”

'We've kind of been locked-in'

It’s been a remarkable reversal for a team that was 12-11 at one point. Back then, it was assumed the MAAC’s automatic bid would go to Iona and Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino. But now the Peacocks (21-11) have won nine straight games.

“The only difference I would say is everybody is more confident now,” Holloway said. “Before, everybody wasn’t sure of their role on the team; a lot of guys were still trying to find themselves and get back in shape and stuff like that.

“The COVID pause actually helped us. I know it messed a couple teams up, but it actually helped us. It got us a chance – we didn’t play in 28 days - it was like minicamp to get ready and get it back. Since COVID, it’s been a different team. We’ve kind of been locked-in.”