WATCH: Saint Peter's holds on in wild finish to make NCAA tournament history
The clock has yet to strike 12 for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks as their Cinderella story continues after upsetting yet another NCAA championship contender in the Purdue Boilermakers. Saint Peter’s upended Purdue by a score of 67-64 to clinch the school’s first-ever ticket to the Elite Eight. And not only is this the Peacocks’ first trip but it’s the first time ever a team seeded No. 15 has reached the Elite Eight round in tournament history.
Saint Peter’s started off the tournament by defeating the No. 2 seed in their region of the bracket, the Kentucky Wildcats. After the Wildcats allowed them to stay in it for most of the game, the Peacocks were able to push the game to overtime. There, in overtime, Saint Peter’s outscored Kentucky 14-8 to win the game 85-79. Their round of 32 matchup was against the Murray State Racers, who were the No.7 seed, beating them 70-60.
LOOK: Donovan Mitchell reacts to Kentucky’s stunning loss to Saint Peter’s
In the first Friday night game of those Sweet 16, Saint Peters beat Purdue by controlling the Boilermakers star guard Jayden Ivey. The projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft was held to just nine points in the game.
Saint Peter’s upset of Kentucky 85-79 has gone viral around the basketball world, and has reached one of Louisville’s most notable alumni, Donovan Mitchell.
“Man Kenny Payne gets hired as the new coach and UK loses in the same day,” Mitchell tweeted.
Despite Oscar Tshiebwe‘s 30 points and 16 rebounds, Kentucky couldn’t hold off the Peacocks in overtime, and have immediately become the laughing stock of college basketball. Daryl Banks III scored a season-high 27 points thanks to five 3-pointers and Doug Edert came in clutch with 20 points of his own.
Despite leading by two scores in overtime, Kentucky was stunned and Louisville is having a field day at their rival’s expense. Even head football coach Scott Satterfield is getting in on the fun alongside Mitchell.
Payne, who Mitchell mentioned in the tweet, is expected to be announced as the Louisville Cardinals next basketball head coach on Friday. Current New York Knicks assistant Kenny Payne is expected to take the job, returning to the college game after a short stint in the NBA.
Just like Mitchell, Payne played his college basketball at Louisville, winning the 1986 national championship with the Cardinals. Four years later, Payne was coaching college basketball, starting out as an assistant coach for the Oregon Ducks. He was soon hired by John Calipari in 2010, working with the Kentucky Wildcats for nearly a decade and being named the associate head coach in 2014. Payne accepted a role with the New York Knicks in 2020, working with head coach Tom Thibodeau.