| Date |
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 (7pm) // Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 (4pm) |
| Matchup |
Saint Peter's (0-0, 0-0 MAAC)
St. John's (0-0, 0-0 Big East)
La Salle (0-0, 0-0 A10) |
| Location |
Carnesecca Arena // Queens, N.Y. |
| How To Watch |
Wednesday: FS2 // Friday: No Webcast |
| Links |
Live Stats (Both Days) // Notes |
| Social |
Twitter // Instagram |
Opening Tip
After nearly eight months since its upstart 2019-20 campaign was cut short, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball program returns to the court to open its 2020-21 campaign on the road against St. John's on Wednesday (Nov. 25). Tipoff from Carnesecca Arena is set for 7 p.m.
The Peacocks and Red Storm will square off as part of a multi-team event in Queens; the hosts will also welcome La Salle for a Thanksgiving Day matinee before the Peacocks and Explorers round out the three-day, three-game affair on Friday.
The games are, of course, the first in the college basketball circuit since the 2020 postseason was cut short due to the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic last March. At the time, Saint Peter's had punched its ticket to the semifinal round of the 2020 MAAC Championships after finishing a game short of the regular season title.
Inside The Series
- The Peacocks and Red Storm have met 18 times previously, including last December at Carnesecca Arena. That game saw Saint Peter's mount a furious second-half comeback before ultimately dropping a 10-point affair against the Big East member.
- Prior to last winter, the two schools -- which are separated by roughly 15 miles -- had not faced each other in nearly four decades, last meeting in 1975-76.
- Saint Peter's has never defeated St. John's in 18 tries in a series that dates back to 1910.
- Last year also represented the program's first trip to Queens to take on St. John's since 1951; the last time the two schools met in consecutive seasons was in 1951-52, while the last time those two meetings were in Queens in back-to-back years was in 1933-34 and 1934-35.
Closing The Books on 2019-20
- Despite the abbreviated ending, Saint Peter's is coming off of a remarkable 2019-20 campaign that saw the Peacocks "arrive" ahead of schedule, at least in terms of the prognostications.
- After being picked to finish in ninth place according to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's preseason coaches' poll, Saint Peter's put the league on notice by posting a 14-6 mark in conference play and was in contention for the MAAC regular season title up until the last game.
- Ultimately, the program settled for second place -- by a single game -- and posted wins against every other school in the conference for the first time in history.
- The Peacocks won four-of-five end-of-year conference awards, becoming the only school in MAAC history to do so. Head coach Shaheen Holloway was recognized for his masterful performance by claiming Coach of the Year honors; rising junior KC Ndefo earned both Defensive and Sixth Player of the Year accolades, and then-freshman Aaron Estrada was the league's Rookie of the Year.
- Saint Peter's also set records with nine MAAC home wins, and 14 overall conference victories.
- Peacock rookies shined last winter, as a record five freshmen won at least one MAAC Rookie of the Week award, a league record. They combined to win 10 weekly honors, a school record.
Pick 'Em
- Saint Peter's was picked to finish in a tie for third according to the2020-21 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Saint Peter's shared the third position with Monmouth, a team that it swept in 2019-20. In fact, the Peacocks owned a 6-1 record against the three schools that were picked ahead/in the same spot, posting 1-1 records against unanimous preseason favorite Siena, a 3-0 mark against second-place Iona and a 2-0 sweep vs. the Hawks.
- Last year, of course, the Peacocks were slotted ninth in the preseason prognostications and promptly blew by those expectations en route to a second-place finish; they were a game out of first at season's end.
Defensive Force
- Saint Peter's left its mark in MAAC play last season in a number of ways, but perhaps none more so than on the defensive end.
- Saint Peter's boasted the league's second-best scoring defense, one that yielded only 64.1 points per game.
- The Peacocks also limited opponents to a modest 40.3% shooting from the field, the best defensive shooting percentage in the league.
- From downtown, opponents converted only 32.1% of their shots, the second-worst shooting clip by league constituents.
- The Peacocks also forced 15.1 turnovers per game (3rd/MAAC).
Looking Ahead
Saint Peter's will close out its first week of the 2020-21 campaign with a neutral site showdown against Atlantic 10 member La Salle at Carnesecca Arena on Friday (Nov. 27) at 4 p.m. The Peacocks and Explorers will do battle for the first time since the two schools opened up the 2017-18 campaign against one another. Saint Peter's boasts eight wins all-time against La Salle, which will also face St. John's a day prior.
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