PHILADELPHIA — Part of the reason the NCAA Tournament's become as big as it's become, and provided college basketball such mainstream appeal, has been the stories of the underdog, the Cinderella stories.
Purdue's task Friday night: Give Cinderella the boot.
Saint Peter's, the tiny Jersey City school of roughly 2,500, has been the story of this year's NCAA Tournament thus far, the headliner among the three double-digit seeds to reach this year's Sweet 16. The 15th-seeded Peacocks' first-round win over Kentucky was probably one of the most surprising outcomes in the history of this event, and ever since, Saint Peter's has taken up the banner for Jersey City, and not just New Jersey as whole, but the Tri-State Area as a whole.
"I think a lot of teams underestimated them, they kind of doubted their ability because of the number next to their name," Purdue's Zach Edey said. "But we're coming into this game like we're playing the 2 seed because they beat the 2 seed, so we have to have the mentality that they're a really good team and we have to respect them."
One would think that wouldn't be a problem for Purdue, but these things do go both ways, as Saint Peter's has spent the week soaking up its instant fame, drawing media attention, striking NIL deals and in the case of budding-star coach Shaheen Holloway, trying to tamp down speculation he's on the verge of a fairly obvious move to Seton Hall, his alma mater.
The Cinderella story does cut both ways, but Saint Peter's players were adamant about distractions being limited this week and their focus being on Purdue. Of course they did.
"It's a thin line," Holloway said. "These guys worked their butts off to get to this point, and I want these guys to get the attention that they're getting because it's good, but it's also a distraction.
"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, I let the media and everybody and the guys kind of do it. After yesterday we kind of shut it down just to get back focused and understand the task at hand. We've got to try to take care of business Friday night. But this group is good. This group is older. I've got an older group, so the older guys understand what's at hand, and they kind of help the younger guys with it."
Reality has a funny way of setting in during situations like this, and while Saint Peter's is hot and confident and by every account extremely well coached, momentum won't make its front line the same size as Edey or Trevion Williams or ease their matchup worries surrounding elite Purdue guard Jaden Ivey.
Saint Peter's won't surprise the heavily favored Boilermakers Friday night the way it might have surprised Kentucky.
"I feel like they have a lot of confidence in themselves, and every team you play in the Tournament, you respect," Ivey said. "Just going into the game, we've just got to be locked in and ready, and I believe we are."
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