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INDIANAPOLIS — Jersey City has gone mad over Saint Peter’s basketball in the wake of its shocking upset of No. 2 seed Kentucky in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first round.
The Peacocks, only the 10th No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985, have become a national story overnight.
The impact has been felt by the Saint Peter’s players and coaches in Indianapolis, where they play No. 7 seed Murray State Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16. Not bad for a program that entered this tournament having never won a game in it in three tries.
Doug Waters, the school’s sports information director, said the school’s Twitter account had increased by more than 5,000 followers since the win.
“It’s insane,’’ he said. “It’s been non-stop. I don’t know that it’s fully sunk in yet. My entire night I was fielding phone calls from friends and family and from media. Our social media has just been blowing up more than it has pretty much ever. That’s how I get a feel of the pulse, and that’s been unbelievable.’’
Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway said he has had 791 text messages since the win over Kentucky.
His players, who have seen the reaction back on campus with the large watch party, haven’t gotten a lot of sleep, either.
“It’s been amazing, to be honest,’’ Fousseyni Drame said.
“We’ve seen a lot of pictures and videos of people back home celebrating,’’ Matthew Lee said. “It’s honestly a surreal feeling knowing that they’re so proud of us. We’ve just got to keep on going.’’
Said Hassan Drame: “It feels really amazing to see people in the country supporting you, even though they’re not here physically, we knew they were here with us, like, spiritually.’’
Rachelle Paul, the Saint Peter’s athletic director, said she feels like the win over Kentucky enlightened the nation about who the school is and where it is.
“Obviously, there were a lot people out there who had no idea who Saint Peter’s is, where is Saint Peter’s or what Saint Peter’s is,’’ she said. “It’s put Saint Peter’s on the map. It’s been over 10 years since we had a NCAA tournament team and it’s brought recognition to the university. It’s incredible what an a successful basketball program can do for a university its front porch.’’
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