Scouting Report, sponsored by Justice Dental: Saint Peter's Peacocks

KSR’s Scouting Report of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks is sponsored by Justice Dental.

KSR’s postseason coverage is presented by our good friends at Justice Dental. Visit one of their two Lexington locations by scheduling an appointment online or by calling (859) 543-0700. You can even send a text message to one of their friendly team members at the same number to ask a question or make an appointment. 

Now is a great time to schedule your dental cleaning. Dr. Justice, Dr. Thompson, Dr. Pratt, and Dr. Warren look forward to seeing you soon!

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For the first time since March 31st, 2019 the Kentucky Wildcats will take the floor in a NCAA Tournament game. It seems impossible that it truly has been nearly three whole years. However, the cancellation of the 2020 tournament followed by last season’s 9-16 record has Big Blue Nation on a postseason drought. The ‘Cats, a #2 seed in the East Region, are back in The Big Dance and ready to take on the #15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks at 7:10 p.m. in Indianapolis.

Saint Peter’s is the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) March Madness representative with a 19-11 overall record. The Peacocks defeated Monmouth 60-54 on Saturday to secure the automatic bid for the first time since 2011. The regular season MAAC champion was none other than Coach Rick Pitino and the Iona Gaels, but they were knocked off by Rider in the opening round of the conference tournament. Iona defeated Saint Peter’s twice during the regular season.

Head Coach Shaheen Holloway is in his fourth year in Jersey City and brought the Peacocks their most wins since the 2016-2017 season. A long-time Seton Hall assistant under Coach Kevin Willard, Holloway brings a tough defensive mindset to his Saint Peter’s teams. In each of the last three seasons they have seen a steady climb in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency from 80th in 2019-2020, to 61st a year ago, and now 34th this season.

As we do prior to every game, it is time to deliver another scouting report. You will find a full personnel deep-dive, breakdowns of the Peacocks offensive and defensive scheme, and the keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and get to know more about Kentucky’s opening round opponent, the #15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks.

Saint Peter’s Peacocks Personnel

Starters

#15 Matthew Lee: 6’0″ 160 lbs, Junior Point Guard

7.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.9 apg

Smaller point guard. Good shooter. Need to be there to give a hard contest. 35.6% from 3. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. He will shoot behind if you go under. Chase off downscreens and flares. He will drive it right when you get out and take away the 3’s. No right hand drives! Pressure him as much as you can without getting smoked to his right hand. Pick him up full court and heat him up. Likes to curl off-ball screens. We will chase if and force him to curl, but need to have good help at the point of the screen. Switch if he curls into your chest. Will slip screens. Very good cutter off of the ball. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than from 2. Make him take contest 2’s.

#5 Daryl Banks III: 6’3″ 165 lbs, Junior Guard

11.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg

Long, skinny wing. SHOOTER! NO 3’s! 47-129 from deep. Need to be tight to him and take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Under 40% from 2-point range. Make him take contested 2’s. Get over ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and flares. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. No help off of him. Get up and pressure him on the perimeter. 44 assists to 45 turnovers. Make him put it on the floor and see if you can take it off of him. Really wants to shoot jump shots. Be willing to switch the ballscreens to keep a guy on a guy and be ready to contest the pull-up jumpers. Don’t let him be comfortable when bouncing it. Break his rhythm and pressure him. Contest everything! More shots than points for him.

#11 KC Ndefo: 6’7″ 195 lbs, Senior Forward

10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.3 apg

Athletic, long forward. Best player. Will play out on the perimeter even when he slides to play the 4 or the 5. Non-shooter. Right hand driver! NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Be in help off of him and then closeout short to him on the perimeter. You can aggressively help when he drives it, especially when driving it right. 69 assists to 84 turnovers. Come take it off of him. They will run a lot of diagonal shuffle screens and cross screens for him to catch it inside. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off the block. Make him score over you. Elite shot blocker. 2.7 blocks per game. Need to shot fake at the end of your drives. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out! No right hand drives.

#14 Hassan Drame: 6’7″ 200 lbs, Junior Forward

5.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.7 apg

Face-up 4-man. Likes to play out on the perimeter. Right hand driver. No right hand drives! He is a capable shooter, but doesn’t really shoot from 3-point range. Just 7-20 from beyond the arc. Good shooter from the mid-range. Need to give a hard contest when he faces up in the post or shoots from the 15-foot range. Stay between him and the basket. Closeout with high hands and choppy feet then bounce back after you take away the initial catch-and-shoot. If he drives it left he likes to spin back to his right. Come steal it from him on the spin. 21 assists to 42 turnovers. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Excellent offensive rebounder! Over 2 offensive rebounds per game. Box out! Make him score over you.

#12 Clarence Rupert: 6’8″ 245 lbs, Freshman Forward

4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.7 apg

Strong, physical post. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. They do throw it to him on the roll. Give ground while stunting at the ball and stay between him and the basket on the roll. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Need to be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down the further off the block you make him catch it. Make him score over you. Take away the left shoulder. Good offensive rebounder. Box out! No left shoulder baskets in the post.

Bench

#25 Doug Edert: 6’2″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

9.3 ppg, 2.4 apg, 0.8 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 102 of 177 shots have been 3’s. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Absolutely no help off of him. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and flares. If he isn’t dribbling you aren’t close enough. Likes to drive it right once you take away the 3’s. No right hand drives! Pressure him on the perimeter and make him uncomfortable. Should be able to take him away simply by staying tight to him at all times. Find him in transition. Really likes coming off flare screens. Loves to back cut when they go 5-out. Don’t get back cut! No 3’s!

#10 Fousseyni Drame: 6’7″ 200 lbs, Junior Forward

7.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.8 apg

Backup 4-man. Will face-up and play out on the perimeter quite a bit. Capable shooter, but not hunting 3’s. 10-27 from beyond the arc. Just throw a hand up if he shoots from 3. Need to be tighter and give a hard contest when he shoots the mid-range jumper. Very long and athletic. Likes to drive it right from the perimeter. No right hand drives! Have to get over and cut off the right hand drives. Closeout with choppy feet and high hands and then bounce back to stay between him and the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off the block. Make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averages 2 offensive rebounds per game. BOX OUT!!!

#32 Jaylen Murray: 5’11” 175 lbs, Freshman Point Guard

5.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.6 apg

Backup point guard. Capable shooter, but better and more aggressive as a right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! Need to get over and cut him off. Loves to use the left to right crossover to try and get downhill to his right hand. Go over the ballscreens and handoffs to start. If he doesn’t make one early we may switch and hop under them. Need to be ready to give a hard contest to the pull-up jump shots. Likes to shoot mid-range jump shots and floaters. Get your hands up and contest. Want to stay between him and the basket. Don’t get back cut when he is playing off of the ball. No right hand drives. No layups!

#13 Isiah Dasher: 6’4″ 170 lbs, Senior Guard

5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.8 apg

Backup wing. Good athlete. Right hand driver! No right hand drives! Capable shooter but better and more aggressive as a right hand driver. Need to have your hands up to contest if he shoots the 3, but we would rather play a step off and stay between him and the basket. Pressure him as much as you can on the perimeter without getting beat off the dribble to his right hand. 23 assists to 31 turnovers. Try and get him to turn it over. Don’t let him be comfortable. No right hand drives. No layups for him!

Saint Peter’s Peacocks Offense

There is no getting around it, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks are not a great team offensively. They are absolutely in The Big Dance because of their defensive prowess. The Peacocks are a Motion based team that will split time between a 4-around-1 and 5-out Motion. Especially when they go to their 5-out they are looking to slip screens and back cut for layups. You have to do a good job of jumping to the ball and staying between them and the basket to keep from giving up layups on their cuts to the basket.

Saint Peter’s is going to walk the ball up the floor on most possessions. When they do play in transition they are almost exclusively looking for a 3-pointer by #25 Edert or a throw ahead and right hand drive by #11 Ndefo. Outside of those two plays they will likely just get into their half court Motion.

Along with their base offense, Coach Holloway has some creative diagonal screen and cross actions that the Peacocks will run to get #11 Ndefo the ball on the block. He could be a different type of matchup for us to deal with defensively. You need to try and make it hard for him to get a catch, push him off the block inside, be willing to switch the back screens, and then take away his left shoulder. Let’s take a look at the film to get a better feel for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks offense.

5-Out Motion

This will give you a good feel for Saint Peter’s 5-out Motion offense. They love to lift everyone out above the perimeter to give plenty of driving lanes and space for basket cuts. You need to jump to the ball to keep them from cutting your face for a layup. We will live with contested pull-up jumpers like these. They won’t make enough to stay in the game.

Anytime that the Peacocks lift all five guys above the perimeter you can expect a back cut coming. Do not get back cut! Jump to the ball and do not let them cut your face. Seeing it happen in these clips will help you not allow it to happen during the game.

It happens enough that it deserves one more look. Here is another 5-out backcut by the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. #25 Edert is one of the top targets on the backcut and they will “throw him open” when he heads to the basket. He is a tough one to guard because you want to be tight to him in order to take away the 3’s. You just need to try and feel it coming that when they lift all five guys above the arc that a backcut is coming.

Horns-Ballscreen Two Times Roll & Replace

In the half court the Peacocks turn to a couple of Horns actions. One that they run a lot of is this two times ballscreen action where they roll and replace with a shooter coming up to the perimeter. Their post players are all looking to come back to their left shoulder to finish with their right hand. Stay between them and the basket on the roll and then take away the left shoulder.

Horns-Ball in Post Stagger

One thing that Saint Peter’s does really well is cut and move when the ball goes in the post. After the Horns two times ballscreen on this possession they throw it into the post and then stagger double away. They really like this action when the ball goes inside. Here, they curl the first screen and then #15 Lee steps back for the 3. We just need to be more active off the ball when the ball is in the post.

Cross Screen for #11 Ndefo

A lot of the Peacocks half court sets will be to go inside for #11 Ndefo. You can see Coach Holloway signal for “5 down” and after some pre-movement, the baseline runner curls back to set a cross screen on the block for the athletic 6’7″ forward. We need to be willing to switch if there is space when Ndefo is coming off and then try to get around in front to make the entry hard. No easy left shoulder baskets for him!

Saint Peter’s Peacocks Defense

This is the end of the floor where the Saint Peter’s Peacocks win their games. The talent level in no way is to the caliber of a SEC team or anyone that we have played in a long time, but Coach Holloway’s team is legitimately good defensively. They are a man-to-man team, really want to stay between you and the basket, and will have active hands as you drive the basketball.

Saint Peter’s doesn’t necessarily help a ton in the gaps, but when the ball goes into the post you should expect them to be very aggressive and maybe even trap. That means you need to be quick and decisive in your decision-making. Either make a quick move away from the direction of the trap or allow it to come and pass out over the top. They aren’t very big so you should be able to kick out over the top of the defense when the trap comes

The Peacocks are are 35th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency but coming in 5th in effective field goal percentage defense. They hold teams to 44% shooting from 2-point range and just 29.4% from 3. They also have an elite rim protector in #11 Ndefo, but he is smaller and should have a harder time being so dominant against our size.

Keys to the Game

• Take care of the basketball. As long as we get shots each possession we will score enough to win comfortably. They stay in the game by handing them the ball. 10 or fewer turnovers tonight.
• Dominate the glass. The Peacocks are small and will not be ready for SEC physicality. We need to get 10 or more second chances on the glass while holding them to fewer than 8.
• Pressure the ball. Saint Peter’s turns it over on 20.8% of their possessions. We need to impose our will from the opening tip and force 16 or more turnovers in this one.
• Make your free throws. They foul a lot and teams generally spend a lot of time at the free throw line. Need to be 75% or better from the charity stripe.