Men's Basketball Takes on Seton Hall on Saturday

Opening Tip

• The Saint Peter's University men's basketball team hits the court to take on Seton Hall on Saturday.

Elite Peacocks

• Saint Peter's is coming off one of the most impressive Cinderella runs in NCAA Tournament history. The Peacocks became the first ever 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight.
• The Peacocks took down Kentucky 85-79 after overtime in the second round. In the round of 32, Saint Peter's struck again, beating Murray State 70-60 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Peacocks again played spoiler in the next round, beating Purdue 67-64 to reach the Elite Eight. The run ended there, losing to North Carolina 69-49. The three wins were the programs first in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Peacocks earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the MAAC Championship down in Atlantic City, NJ. The championship was the teams first since 2011 and fourth in program history. The team beat Fairfield, Quinnipiac and Monmouth.

Five Things to Know

• The 2022-23 team will have a much different look than last year's team, including a new coaching staff. Bashir Masonbecomes the 16th coach in program history. Mason, a Jersey City native, was the former head coach of Wagner, winning three NEC Coach of the Year awards, as well as winning three NEC Regular Season titles. Mason adds Pete Cipriano, Jim Mack, Keydren Clark, Nigel Jackson, and Vivek Kalola to his staff ahead of the new campaign. Umar Shannon is the only remaining staff member from last year's team on this year's staff.
• Not only is their turnover on the staff, there is plenty of turnover amongst the players. Eight players were lost from last season, including two to graduation and six to the transfer portal. The Peacocks added six new players ahead of this season, including two freshmen and four transfers. Corey Washington and Thomas Tut highlight the freshman class, while Kyle Cardaci (Coppin State), Jayden Saddler (Southern), Alex Rivera (LIU), and Cam Young (Bowling Green) complete the list of transfers.
• The Peacocks were one of the top rebounding teams in the MAAC, leading the league with a +2.7 rebounding margin last season. SPU did a strong job on the offensive glass last season as they were third in the conference and inside the top-100 in the country with 10.9 offensive rebounds per game. Positive results on the boards were a strong indicator of success for the Peacocks last season as they outrebounded their opponent in 12 of their 22 victories on the season.
• SPU had one of the most balanced groups in the country last season and have had 28 consecutive games with at least eight different scorers. Offensively, nine different players have scored in double figures in a game this season. Of the 12 student-athletes who saw action in a game last season, all 12 started once. Additionally, all 12 averaged at least 8.5 minutes per contest.
• As a team, SPU ranked second in the MAAC shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range as a team last  season. The team loses top three point shooters Doug Edert and Daryl Banks III to Bryant and St. Bonaventure respectively.

Up Next

• Saint Peter's has one of their biggest games of the season on Tuesday, November 15th, as they host Bucknell. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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