Men's Basketball Faces Off with Murray State with a Spot in the Sweet 16 on the Line

The Particulars
Saint Peter's (20-11, 14-6 MAAC) vs. Murray State (31-2, 18-0 OVC)
Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
Network: CBS

Tip-Off

• Coming off a historic win over #2 Kentucky Thursday night, the Saint Peter's men's basketball team returns to action in the round of 32 Saturday, facing off with Murray State University Saturday night in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
• The Peacocks come into the matchup on an eight-game winning streak, knocking off the Wildcats 85-79 in OT. The Racers, meanwhile, had an overtime win as well, defeating #10 San Francisco 92-87 to survive and advance.

Last Time Out

• Led by phenomenal efforts from juniors Daryl Banks III and Doug Edert on the biggest stage imaginable, the Peacocks earned arguably the biggest win in program history -- in overtime, no less -- by way of its stunning 85-79 victory over heavily favored second-seeded and eight-time national champion Kentucky in the 2022 NCAA Championship's opening round at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The bracket-busting decision, which was the program's first NCAA Tournament win in four tries, catapulted the Peacocks into the national spotlight and, at least for one night, can safely claim the status as the darlings of this year's national tournament.
• Banks III finished the contest with a career-high 27 points and Edert dropped 20 for the second straight game, including a pair of huge 3-pointers down the stretch, as the Peacocks stunned the Wildcats in front of a raucous crowd. The Peacocks advance to the NCAA Championship's Second Round on Saturday (March 19), where they will battle seventh-seeded Murray State at 7:45 p.m. with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen at stake.
• Tied 37-37 at half and 71-71 at the end of regulation, the Peacocks outscored the Wildcats 14-8 in the overtime period and closed the contest on a 14-4 run to reach the 20-win milestone for the first time since 2017 when SPU won the CollegeInsider.com Tournament title. The Peacocks have also now won eight straight games for the first time since the 1994-95 season when they won nine consecutive contests to start the season 9-1.
• Banks III was on fire in the first half, scoring 16 in the opening stanza to keep SPU in it without three-time Defensive Player of the Year KC Ndefo on the court after picking up two fouls in the first two minutes of game action.
• Much like he did in the MAAC Championship contest, it was Edert who knocked down clutch shots down the stretch at the end of regulation and overtime to hand Kentucky just their second opening round defeat in the last 27 chances for the Wildcats.

The Series

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

Quick Hitters

• After nearly a month between games from Dec. 18 to Jan. 14, SPU has gone 17-5 in the 2022 calendar year to win the advanced to win the MAAC title and advance to the second round for the first time in program history
• Ndefo is the anchor of the Peacocks as he heads into the contest averaging 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.3 assists and 1.2 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 11.5 points per game this season. Banks has scored in double figures 19 times this season with 14 of those performances coming against MAAC opponents including in seven of the last nine contests.
• SPU heads into the contest with one of the top defenses in the NCAA, leading the MAAC and ranking 21st in DI allowing just 62.3 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.
• The Peacocks are the first MAAC team to win an NCAA Tournament game since Siena did so in 2009.

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 298 blocks, good for the third-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 2.71 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 90.1 percent from the stripe this season while Banks is fourth shooting 85.7 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 172 attempts headed into the contest.

Defense Wins Championships

• The Peacocks currently rank ninth in the country in field goal percentage defense, 14th in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 24th in scoring defense and 25th in blocked shots per game.
• The Peacocks have allowed under 70 points in 19 of their last 23 games and hold a 18-5 record this season when allowing less than 70.
• In their current eight game winning streak that includes the conference tournament, SPU is allowing just 55.1 points per game.

Balancing Act

• SPU has had one of the most balanced groups in the country this season and have had 25 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 first in the MAAC shooting 35.9 percent from 3-point range as a team this season.
• Edert leads the way for the Peacocks and sits third in the conference shooting 42.3 percent from downtown on the year which would rank 14th in the country if he met the NCAA qualifying number of attempts.
• Banks III also sits in the top-10 in the MAAC shooting 38.0 percent from deep to rank sixth overall in the league.

Crashing the Boards

• The Peacocks are one of the top rebounding teams in the MAAC, leading the league with a +3.0 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 20 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 were previously unable to get over the hump as they currently sit 1-3 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.

Rundown on the Racers

• Murray State comes into the contest 31-2 overall currently riding a 21-game winning streak after going 18-0 in the OVC.
• The Racers finished the season ranked 20th in the final AP Top-25 poll with the best winning percentage in the country. The current win streak is the longest active streak in the country dating all the way back to a 71-58 defeat at the hands of Auburn on Dec. 22.
• Junior KJ Williams is the leader for Murray St., averaging 18.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Williams ranks inside the top-40 in the country in points, double-doubles, rebounds per game and field goals made.
• Junior Tevin Brown and sophomore Justice Hill join Williams in double figures with 16.9 and 13.2 points per game, respectively.
• Murray State is one of the best rebounding teams in the NCAA, ranking sixth in DI with a +8.2 rebounding margin and 22nd with 39.3 rebounds per game.
• As a team, the Racers have struggled from the free throw line ranking 255th in the nation in free throw percentage shooting 69.4 percent.

Up Next

• The winner of the second round contest would go on to advance to the Sweet 16 to face off against the winner of the contest between #3 Purdue and #6 Texas in Philadelphia.

-- 

For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.