For just the 10th time in NCAA Tournament history, a 15-seed has taken down a two-seed.
The No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks pulled off a first-round overtime stunner in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats in an 85-79 overtime thriller. Saint Peter’s will now move onto the second round in the East region to face either No. 7 Murray State or No. 10 San Francisco.
The Wildcats were on upset alert throughout the entirety of this ballgame as Daryl Banks III and the MAAC Tournament Champion Peacocks took it to the highly favored No. 2 seed. The two teams entered the half tied 37-37.
The two combatants continued to trade punches throughout much of the second half until a Sahvir Wheeler layup gave UK a six-point lead with 4:13 remaining. With its upset bid seemingly fading, Saint Peter’s hunkered down and broke off a 7-0 run, taking a 69-68 lead off a Doug Edert three. The two teams once again ended up nodded at the end of regulation to sent it into OT.
Trailing by three in the extra period, Saint Peter’s once again didn’t flinch. Edert once again came through with a clutch three to tie it and after a Davion Mintz free throw on the other end, Banks and Hassan Drame combined their efforts on back-to-back possessions to give the Peacocks a three-point advantage.
Down by five with their backs against the wall, TyTy Washington buried a crucial three with 21.6 seconds left to pull them within two. But the Peacocks drained their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Kentucky entered the game as an 18-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook.