No. 15 seed Saint Peter's Peacocks topple Murray State Racers as electrifying run rolls into Sweet 16

INDIANAPOLIS — Saint Peter's coach Shaheen Holloway said from the start that he didn't bring his team to Indianapolis for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament to just show up and lose.

Holloway was right.

The Peacocks are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history after beating Murray State 70-60 on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Peacocks will play the winner of Sunday's game between Texas and Purdue.

«I'm just proud that these guys get to play on a different type of stage,» Holloway said. «NCAA tournament is every kid's dream. Playing in the MAAC is a great tournament — I mean a great league. We play on ESPN+. We don't get a lot of big TV games. So these guys get a chance to show their talent on the big stage. That's what I'm proud of. These guys worked so hard for this moment. I'm just proud of them.»

Saint Peter's, with an enrollment of about 2,300 students, is the feel-good team of the tournament so far. The Peacocks shocked No. 2 seed Kentucky in the first round and then led from start to finish in beating Murray State, which entered Saturday with only two losses on the season.

The Peacocks, who have the longest active winning streak in Division I at nine games, joins Florida Gulf Coast (2013) and Oral Roberts (2021) as the only No. 15 seeds to reach the Sweet 16 since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Saint Peter's won't have far to travel for their Sweet 16 game because Jersey City, New Jersey, where the school is located, is only about 90 miles from Philadelphia.

«As far as the Sweet 16, again, it's another quick turnaround,» Peacocks guard Doug Edert said. «And we're not going to get too high. What we did is amazing, but it's already in the past, and we've got to move on