Where Saint Peter's basketball’s March Madness resume stands for 2024 NCAA Tournament
When Saint Peter’s stepped out onto the March Madness stage two years ago it was an historic moment for the NCAA Tournament, as the Peacocks upset blue-blood Kentucky, red-hot Murray State and top-seed Purdue in rapid succession to reach the Elite Eight as a No. 15 seed.
With that as the backdrop, the Peacocks are slipping their dancing shoes on again after Saturday night’s 68-63 win over Fairfield in the MAAC Tournament championship game to earn the league’s automatic bid, with the tiny school from Jersey City sending a message about what might be possible by sweeping to the title as the No. 5 seed.
During three victories in Atlantic City, the Peacocks showed their physical style can cause teams problems in win-or-go-home scenarios, having been sweep during the regular season by all three teams they beat in the MAAC Tournament, including top-seed Quinnipiac in the semifinals.
Where and when will Saint Peter’s play in the NCAA Tournament?
The Peacocks are likely to be a 16th seed, with a 19-13 record and NET of 194. And that means there’s a chance they’ll land in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, with those games scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There’s a chance they could face Northeast Conference champion Wagner, Saint Peter’s head coach Bashir Mason’s old team, currently coached by his former assistant Donald Copeland. Mason and Copeland are good friends; Mason helped the former Seton Hall standout get into coaching and recommended him for the Wagner opening. But whether or not the Peacocks open in the First Four, what looms in the opening round will probably be a No. 1 seed, as the Peacocks look to take once again down one of college basketball's elite.
If the selection committee has a sense of humor it will match them up with top-seeded Purdue for a rematch of that epic upset in the 2022 Sweet 16.
An there's also the possibility of UConn-Saint Peter's matchup, which also has a good story line: Mason played high school ball for Huskies skipper Dan Hurley at St. Benedict's Prep and later coached under him as an assistant at Wagner before taking over that program.
The full field of 68 teams will be unveiled during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday at 6 p.m.
How has Saint Peter’s fared in the NCAA Tournament?
This will be the fifth appearance by the Peacocks in the Big Dance. And until 2022, they hadn’t won a game in March Madness. The highest they’ve ever been seeded is 12th, which was in their first appearance in 1991, losing to fifth-seeded Texas in the opener. They lost to second-seed Massachusetts as a 15-seed in 1994, and fell to No. 3 Purdue as a 14-seed in 2011.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Saint Peter's March Madness bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA Tournament
