For a while Sunday night, it felt like someone was playing a prank on Shaheen Holloway and his players. The NCAA Tournament selection show was almost over, and Saint Peter’s hadn’t been announced yet.
Did the Peacocks not win the MAAC Tournament 24 hours earlier? Were they just forgotten? And, then, with the last possible matchup, it finally happened. The Jersey City school’s name flashed across the television screen, opposite big, bad Kentucky. Saint Peter’s was headed to Indianapolis as the No. 15 seed in the East Region, part of the Madness.
“It was a sigh of relief,” said Holloway, the former Seton Hall star and assistant coach who has played and coached in the tournament several times. “We knew we were in, because we won the tournament. But it’s like, ‘When?’ It was a great moment for them.”
His players were thrilled, taking photos and videos of one another. He was excited, his first opportunity as a head coach in the Dance in just his fourth season running his own program. That the opponent is a brand like Kentucky only added to it. It’s why Holloway tries to schedule multiple high-major opponents every year. He wants his players tested.
St. Peter’s celebrate their selection to the NCAA Tournament. Courtesy of Saint Peter’s Athletics
St. Peter’s celebrate their selection to the NCAA Tournament. Courtesy of Saint Peter’s Athletics“This is what these guys came to college for, to be a part of something like this,” Holloway, a 45-year-old Queens native, said. “I told them, ‘This is the moment.’ ”
It has been a roller-coaster ride of a season for Saint Peter’s (19-11). The Peacocks were picked to finish second in the MAAC, started 3-6, and had a 26-day COVID-19 pause. They won six of seven games upon returning, then lost four of seven before finishing on a seven-game winning streak.
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The break, according to Holloway, is where the season turned. Saint Peter’s wasn’t defending like it once did, trying to play fast and thinking offense first. During that pause, Holloway pored over film, and decided he was going to go back to what had previously worked. He slowed down the pace at which Saint Peter’s played and went to a bigger lineup.
“I got back to doing what I did that got me here, that’s being a good defensive coach and locking people up,” Holloway said. “We weren’t playing my type of basketball. I changed all that around during the break and we got back to simplifying things.”
The biggest key has been senior forward KC Ndefo, the linchpin to the defense as its rim protector averaging 2.7 blocks per game. After last season, the Elmont, N.Y. native entered his name into the transfer portal. It didn’t go as he planned. Two days before the start of fall classes, he reached out to the coaching staff about returning. Hesitant at first, Holloway accepted him back, but since Ndefo wasn’t vaccinated, he wasn’t able to join workouts for a month.
Ndefo eventually hit his stride, and so did Saint Peter’s. In the MAAC Tournament, the Peacocks didn’t allow more than 63 points in their three victories. In this seven-game winning streak, five of the wins have come by at least 12 points. The Peacocks overall allow 61.8 points per game — which is the 19th-lowest figure in the country — and their defense is ranked 34th nationally in efficiency. That defense will certainly get put to the test on Thursday by John Calipari’s Wildcats and National Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe, a bruising forward averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds per game. Asked how he planned to defend the 6-foot-9, 255-pound star, Holloway joked he had three forwards who could each give five fouls.
“It’s going to be a great experience for our guys,” he said. “I’ll tell you what: My guys aren’t going to be intimidated.”
Meet The Peacocks
Location: Jersey City, N.J.
Enrollment: 2,355 undergraduates (3,197 total)
Coach: Shaheen Holloway (fourth season)
Last NCAA appearance: 2011
NCAA Tournament history: Three appearances, 0-3
How they got here: By winning the MAAC Tournament as the two-seed, knocking off Fairfield, Quinnipiac and Monmouth in successive games. Saint Peter’s started slowly, losing six of its first nine games, but enters the tournament with seven straight wins, five by double figures.
Starters
G Daryl Banks III (11.0 ppg, 2.6 pg, 1.5 apg)
G Matthew Lee (7.0 ppg, 2.9 apg, 1.8 rpg)
F Hassan Drame (5.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.9 spg)
F KC Ndefo (10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.7 bpg)
F Clarence Rupert (4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Key reserves
G Doug Edert (9.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
F Fousseyni Drame (7.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.8 apg)
G Jaylen Murray (5.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.8 apg)
G Isiah Dasher (5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
F Oumar Diahame (2.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.7 bpg)
Player to watch
Saint Peter’s wins with defense, and forward KC Ndefo is its linchpin on that end, ranked in the top-15 nationally in blocked shots per game. The Elmont, N.Y., native is a capable scorer and has also improved as a passer, providing more offensive versatility for the Peacocks.
Key numbers
11: Years since Saint Peter’s last reached the tournament
10: Players who average double figures in minutes played
61.8: Points allowed per game, the 19th-lowest figure in the country
68.3: Free-throw percentage as a team, ranked 283rd nationally
