No. 15 Saint Peter's stuns No. 3 Purdue, becomes lowest seed to advance to Elite Eight
The dream is still alive for Saint Peter's.
After knocking off No. 2 Kentucky and No. 7 Murray State to become the third No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16, the Peacocks pulled off another upset by stunning No. 3 Purdue 67-64.
That makes Saint Peter's the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight and continues one of the most engrossing and unforeseen postseason runs in men's NCAA Tournament history.
The Peacocks were led by guard Daryl Banks III, who had 14 points. Forward Clarence Rupert had 11 points and guard Doug Edert scored 10 points off the bench.
Purdue forward Trevion Williams scored a game-high 16 points but star guard Jaden Ivey had only 9 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
For the third straight game, a higher-ranked favorite seemed unprepared for the Peacocks' aggressiveness and physicality despite holding a distinct size disadvantage — for one, Purdue was able to trot out 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who finished with 11 points, while Saint Peter's had no starter over 6-foot-7.
But what the Peacocks lacked in size they made up for with late-game composure.
Down 33-29 at halftime, Saint Peter's led 37-33 after five minutes as Purdue's offense opened the second half with six straight misses. The Boilermakers rallied to retake the lead, 43-39, with over 11 minutes left, but the Peacocks went ahead 50-49 with 6:42 remaining on a 3-pointer from forward Fousseyni Drame.
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The teams traded leads the rest of the way, with Purdue taking a 56-52 lead with four minutes left, but Saint Peter’s closed with a flourish. The Peacocks outscored the Boilermakers 15-8 the rest of the way.
A key moment: After missing a short jumper with the score 61-59 with 41 seconds left, Saint Peter’s was able to corral the rebound and draw a foul. Guard Matthew Lee hit both free throws to push the lead to 63-59. Overall, Saint Peter's went 19-of-21 from the line, including eight makes without a miss in the final two minutes.
Before Friday's win, the lowest seed to reach the Elite Eight was a No. 12. That has happened twice: Oregon State did so last season and Missouri in 2002.
The Peacocks will play the winner of No. 8 North Carolina and No. 4 UCLA.
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Saint Peter's stuns Purdue, becomes lowest seed to reach Elite Eight
