Men's Basketball Opens NCAA Tournament against Kentucky

The Particulars
Saint Peter's (18-11, 14-6 MAAC) vs. Kentucky (26-7, 14-4 SEC)
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
Network: CBS

Tip-Off

• Coming off a historic performance in the MAAC Tournament, the Saint Peter's men's basketball team makes its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010-11, facing off with the University of Kentucky Thursday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
• The Peacocks come into the matchup on a seven-game winning streak, knocking off Monmouth 60-54 in the MAAC title game. Kentucky, meanwhile, fell 69-62 against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Semifinal. The Wildcats had won four straight prior to losing to the Vols.

Last Time Out

• Led by another dominant defensive effort and clutch shooting down the stretch, the Peacocks took down Monmouth 60-54 Saturday to win the MAAC Tournament championship for the first time since the 2010-11 season and the fourth time in program history.
• Senior KC Ndefo, who was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year earlier this season, was named the Tournament MVP after finishing the title game with seven points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two assists.
• Juniors Doug Edert and Matthew Lee both also earned spots on the MAAC All-Tournament team. 
• Edert scored 10 of the Peacocks' final 12 points of the contest and finished 20 points in the championship to lead all scorers. The junior out of Nutley, N.J., hit the biggest shot of the game with 46 seconds left when he rose up and buried a 3-pointer to grow the Peacock lead from two to five. He would go on to knock down five free throws down the stretch to be named the Tournament game MVP.
• Lee, meanwhile, chipped in eight points shooting 50% from the floor and ended the tournament averaging 10.3 points per game across the three contests.
• As it has been all season, the Peacocks defense was suffocating throughout as they held the Hawks to just 23.5 percent from the floor and 15.8 percent from 3-point range. One night after limiting Quinnipiac to five made field goals in the second half, SPU one-upped themselves as they allowed just four made baskets against Monmouth in the title contest.
• SPU has now won seven straight contests to close out the regular season and MAAC Tournament and have clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010-11.

The Series

• This is the first meeting all-time between Saint Peter's and Kentucky.

Quick Hitters

• After nearly a month between games from Dec. 18 to Jan. 14, SPU has gone 16-5 in the 2022 calendar year to finish as the #2 seed in the MAAC and advanced to win the conference crown.
• Ndefo is the anchor of the Peacocks as he heads into the contest averaging 10.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season. He was named Second Team All-MAAC and is now the three-time defending MAAC Defensive Player of the Year.
• Daryl Banks III leads the Peacocks offensively overall on the season averaging 11.0 points per game this season. Banks has scored in double figures 18 times this season with 14 of those performances coming against MAAC opponents including in six of the last eight contests.
• SPU heads into the contest with one of the top defenses in the NCAA, leading the MAACand ranking 19th in DI allowing just 61.8 points per game.
• After the win over Fairfield on Friday, Feb. 18, SPU won its 10th MAAC contest for the third consecutive season. It is the first time the Peacocks have won double-digit conference contests in three straight seasons since 1986-89.

All-MAAC Accolades

• Last week, three Peacocks were announced to All-MAAC teams for their strong performances on the court this season.
• Ndefo was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the year for the third time in his career and earned Second Team All-MAAC honors. He also was selected as an NABC Second Team All-District honoree on Tuesday.
• Banks III earned a spot on the All-MAAC Third Team for the second straight year giving him three All-conference honors after being named to the All-Rooke team his freshman season.
• Freshman Jaylen Murray nabbed a spot on the All-Rookie team for the Peacocks after averaging 5.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in his first collegiate season.

Shot BlocKing

• The 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, Ndefo now has a program-best career total of 296 blocks, good for the fourth-most among active players in DI.
• In the home win over Quinnipiac on Friday, Feb. 4, Ndefo swatted 11 shots to set the single-game program record for blocks in a game. It was tied for the second-most blocked shots all-time in a MAAC game.
• After leading the country in blocks per game in 2020-21, Ndefo is atop the MAAC and is 13th in the country with 2.73 blocked shots per game this season.

Money From the Stripe

• Saint Peter's has two of the top free throw shooters in the MAAC in Doug Edert and Banks III. Edert is the MAAC leader shooting 89.0 percent from the stripe this season while Banks is fourth shooting 85.1 percent from the line.
• From Nov. 27 to Jan. 26, Banks III made 34 straight free throws which is currently the fourth-longest streak in Division I this season.
• In total, the duo has missed just 21 free throws in 160 attempts headed into the contest.

Defense Wins Championships

• The Peacocks currently rank fifth in the country in field goal percentage defense, 13th in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 19th in scoring defense and 24th in blocked shots per game.
• The Peacocks have allowed under 70 points in 19 of their last 22 games and hold a 18-5 record this season when allowing less than 70.
• In their current seven game winning streak that includes the conference tournament, SPU is allowing just 51.7 points per game.

Balancing Act

• SPU has had one of the most balanced groups in the country this season and have had 24 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 have seen action in a game this season, all 12 have at least one start. Additionally, all 12 are averaging at least 8.5 minutes per contest.

Threes Please

• As a team, SPU is ranked second in the MAAC shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range as a team this season.
• Edert leads the way for the Peacocks and sits third in the conference shooting 41.2 percent from downtown on the year which would rank 22nd in the country if he met the NCAA qualifying number of attempts.
• Banks III also sits in the top-10 in the MAAC shooting 36.4 percent from deep to rank 10th overall in the league.

Crashing the Boards

• The Peacocks are one of the top rebounding teams in the MAAC, leading the league with a +3.1 rebounding margin this season.
• SPU has done a strong job on the offensive glass this season as they sit third in the conference and inside the top-100 in the country with 11.0 offensive rebounds per game.
• Positive results on the boards has been a strong indicator of success for the Peacocks this season as they have outrebounded their opponent in 11 of their 19 victories on the year

Dancin' Peacocks

• SPU is headed to the Big Dance for the first time since winning the MAAC Title in the 2010-11 season. The Peacocks were a #14 seed in the 2011 tournament and fell in the opening round against #3 Purdue 65-43.
• The Peacocks have been to the NCAA Tournament two other times in NCAA history as well, appearing in the 1994-95 tourney as well as in 1990-91.
• Prior to their appearance in this year's tournament, SPU has previously earned a #15 seed in 95 and a #12 seed in 91 but have been unable to get over the hump as they currently sit 0-3 in NCAA Tournament games all-time.
• Head Coach Shaheen Holloway has experience in the NCAA Tournament as both a player and an assistant coach. In the 2000 NCAA Tournament as a student-athlete at Seton Hall, Holloway led the Pirates as a #10 seed to the Sweet Sixteen, hitting the game-winning shot in overtime against Oregon in the opening round.
• It is also the first postseason non-conference tournament appearance since 2017 when the Peacocks won the CIT Tournament title.

Kickin' it with Kentucky

• Monmouth comes into the contest with a 26-7 overall record and closed the regular season 14-4 in SEC play.
• The Wildcats finished ranked No. 7 in the final regular season AP Poll and have appeared in every AP Poll since the opening week of the season, reaching as high as No. 4 in the rankings.
• Junior First Team All-American Oscar Tshiebwe is the leader for Kentucky, averaging 17.0 points and 15.1 rebounds per game. Tshiebwe is the NCAA leader in double-doubles, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and total rebounds.
• The Wildcats have four other student-athletes averaging double figures including TyTy Washington Jr. who averages 12.6 points per game. He and Sahvir Wheeler (10.0 ppg) combine to average 10.9 assists per contest and run an efficient offense.
• Kentucky is one of the best rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking first in DI with a +10.0 rebounding margin and 12th with 40.24 rebounds per game.
• As a team, the Wildcats do not do a lot of damage from outside, ranking 289th in the country in 3-point field goals per game. They have also struggled at times forcing turnovers as they sit 226th in the country in turnovers forced per game.

Up Next

• The winner of the first round game would go on to face off against the winner of [7] Murray State (30-2) and [10] San Francisco (24-9) on Saturday in Indianapolis.
• SPU is 0-3 against San Francisco all-time and has never faced off against Murray State in program history.

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