St. Peter's Somehow Did It Again And This Is It. This Is The Greatest Cinderella Run We've Ever Seen In The NCAA Tournament
I uh, I honestly feel speechless. This is the greatest run we've ever seen in the NCAA Tournament. St. Peter's is the size of a high school. They were a shitty offense all year and now they are out here beating Kentucky, Murray and Purdue. It's unbelievable that's all I can say. Shaheen Holloway is just running laps around dudes from a coaching standpoint. Of course he played at Seton Hall, but it feels like so many schools are probably pissed they can't hire him.
This game felt weirdly similar to the Kentucky loss. Matt Painter refused to adjust. St. Peter's thrives on taking away the post and just clogging it up. Will they give up points to bigs? Of course. But that's what they do. It's why Jaden Ivey looked terrible. He had nowhere to drive because of the clogged paint. You don't beat teams with jump hooks from Trevion Williams. Not when you're best player is a guard. Matt Painter had complete coaching malpractice by refusing to sit Williams and Edey for a 4 minute stretch and letting his guards have space. He just kept thinking his strategy would work. It didn't and St. Peter's took advantage.
But this is more about St. Peter's. This is about the greatest Cinderella run we've ever seen in the NCAA Tournament. They are going to play another blue blood for a chance to go to the Final Four. It makes no sense. This wasn't a great mid-major. This wasn't even the No. 1 seed from the MAAC. This is just a team that is figuring it all out and having fun. Look at this.
This is why the NCAA Tournament is the greatest event in the world. A world where St. fucking Peter's is playing for a chance to go to the Final Four. A world where a guy named Doug is becoming a star.