The Particulars
Saint Peter's (14-11, 10-8 MAAC, 2020-21) vs. VCU (19-7, 10-4 A-10, 2020-21)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 9 (6 p.m.)
Location: Siegel Center (Richmond, Va.)
Network: ESPN+
Tip-Off
- For the first time this season, the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team will compete in an NCAA competition as they take on Virginia Commonwealth University.
- The Peacocks travel on the road for the first time this season, traveling to Richmond, Virginia, to face off against a Rams squad that has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in eight of the last nine seasons.
Battle of the Boulevard Rundown
- SPU opened the 2021-22 season and Run Baby Run Arena with a 90-66 exhibition win over NJCU on Monday, Nov. 1.
- The Peacocks were led offensively by junior Matthew Lee who finished the contest with 15 points while freshman Jaylen Murray and senior Isiah Dasher each finished in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
- MAAC Preseason Player of the Year KC Ndefo filled up the stat sheet with nine points, six boards and four assists in the win.
Five Things to Know
- Saint Peter's, which recorded its second consecutive trip to the semifinal round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship – and fourth in its last five years – is entering Year 4 of head coach Shaheen Holloway's tenure. It does so with lofty expectations after being picked to finish second in the 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and buoyed by the entirety of its starting lineup from last year's 14-win team that finished third in the conference standings.
- Headlining the group of returners is rising senior forward KC Ndefo, who claimed the honor of 2021-22 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, as well as a spot on the preseason all-league first team. Ndefo's junior campaign was nothing short of remarkable after he bulldozed his way into the record books after leading the nation in blocked shots and finishing eighth in the MAAC in steals. He led the Peacocks and posted career-highs with 342 points (13.7 ppg), 162 rebounds (6.5 rpg), 91 blocks (3.6 bpg) and 38 assists (1.5 asg) and became the program's all-time single-season and career blocks leader.
- Junior guard Daryl Banks III – who was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team – was the lone Peacock to start in all 25 games and average more than 30 minutes (30.6) last year while finishing second in scoring average (11.0 ppg), assists (2.3 apg) and steals (1.2 spg). The Los Angeles native ranked alongside the best in the MAAC in scoring (22nd), three-point shooting (11th), steals (13th), assist/turnover ratio (11th), and minutes (15th).
- Other key returners include junior forwards and twin brothers Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame, both of whom ranked among the top-15 in the conference in rebounding with averages of 7.0 and 5.7 boards per game, respectively.
- Classmate Doug Edert has been one of the league's elite 3-point shooters over his first two seasons in Jersey City and nailed 1.4 triples per game (20th/MAAC) last winter, while fellow junior Matthew Lee has blossomed into one of the conference's most underrated players and top point guards after finishing last season ranked in the league's top-five in assists per game (3.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
The Series
- All-Time: VCU leads, 1-0
- Streak: VCU (1)
- Last Saint Peter's win: N/A
- Last VCU win: 12/29/1974 (L, 86-68 @ VCU)
Up Next
- The Peacocks will travel across the Hudson River to take on St. John's University on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 4:00 p.m. in Queens, N.Y.
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