Tennessee basketball: Comparing this 'gritty' Saint Peter's team to the 2024 Elite Eight team

Saint Peter’s saw its Cinderella run end two years ago in the Elite Eight after running into an eighth-seeded North Carolina team. Not long after, the deconstruction of the best story in the NCAA Tournament began.

Head coach Shaheen Holloway was hired at Seton Hall, his alma mater, three days after the loss to the Tar Heels. Doug Edert, the guard who starred with 20 points off the bench in the upset of No. 2 Kentucky in the first round, transferred to Bryant on April 9.

On April 26, guard Darryl Banks III, who had 27 against Kentucky and 14 more against No. 3 Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen, left for St. Bonaventure on April 26, the same day guard Matthew Lee transferred to Missouri State.

Twin brothers Hassan and Fousseyni Drame transferred to LaSalle in May 2022 and are back in the NCAA Tournament now with Duquesne. 

Guard Latrell Reid, who averaged 8.2 minutes per game in 2022, is the only player left on roster fro the Elite Eight run. He’s the second-leading scorer this season, averaging 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 32.9 minutes.

Now Reid and this Saint Peter’s team (19-13) are back in the NCAA Tournament, again as a No. 15 seed and again facing a No. 2 seed from the SEC in Tennessee (24-8) on Thursday (9:20 p.m. Eastern Time, TNT) at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

But the similarities between the Peacocks then and now don’t go far beyond the name.

“Different coach, different staff, obviously different personnel,” Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said on Tuesday. 

Some fingerprints remain, though.

“I would say the gritty, up-in-your-face style of play that they played before is the same,” Clark continued. “It’s the same.” 

‘You don’t go into this game like you’re playing a 15-seed’

The KenPom.com analytics spell out some differences and some similarities.

Both this Saint Peter’s team and the 2022 Saint Peter’s team do or did more work on the defensive end. These Peacocks are ranked 76th in adjusted defensive efficiency. The 2022 team ranked 25th.

This Saint Peter’s team is ranked No. 305 in adjusted offensive efficiency. The 2022 team was ranked No. 231.

“This team is a little less talented offensively than that last group was,” Clark said. “But defensively, they’re still physical. They’re still really handsy. They try to get after you. They’re going to be very reminiscent of that last team you saw.

Both teams play slow. Saint Peter’s is No. 338 in adjusted tempo and No. 344 in average possession length this season, after being ranked No. 247 and No. 289 two years ago. This Saint Peter’s team is better in offensive rebounding, ranked No. 23rd, after the 2022 team was 84th.

This team is ranked No. 181 in 3-point percentage and No. 359 in 2-point percentage. The 2022 team ranked No. 111 in 3-point percentage and No. 319 in 2-point percentage. 

These Peacocks score 26.9% of their points at the 3-point line, 49.8% inside the arc and 23.3% at the foul line. Those Peacocks scored 25.9% at the 3-point line, 52.4% inside it and 21.7% from free throws.

“They fly around, very handsy, want to get after the ball,” Clark said. “Obviously they have a lot of guys that play defense like Zakai (Zeigler). That’s the area he’s from, obviously. So it is going to be a challenge for us.”

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s, Thursday, 9:20 p.m. ET, TNT

It’s going to be the same challenge for Tennessee Thursday night that it was for Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue in 2022. That’s the emphasis from the coaching staff.

“(When you’re) playing Saint Peter’s, you don’t go into this game like you’re playing a 15-seed,” Clark said. “You’re playing Saint Peter’s who actually two years ago beat Kentucky in this same round, right? So there’s no, we’re going in and we just got to … nah, this is a huge game for us. 

“This is a lot of attention to detail going to be put into play,” Clark continued. “Guys have to be locked in on the scouting report and we have to go into this game understanding that if we don’t go in understanding the urgency that we have to have in this game, this could be the last game that we play.”