CHARLOTTE — On the two-year anniversary of the national stage introduction of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, the iconic NCAA Tournament underdog is back with a mostly new cast.
Coach Shaheen Holloway was hired by Seton Hall, mustachioed sharpshooter Doug Edert transferred to Bryant and only one holdover from the No. 15 seed that took down Kentucky and Purdue on the way to the Elite Eight got off the bus with the 2024 team on Wednesday.
Latrell Reid knows most of the names changed under new head coach Bashir Mason, but the mindset is very much the same.
“Survive and advance,” Reid said of the 19-13 squad. “We just want to come out and set the tone early on the task ahead of us, and then we’ll let everything else work itself out.”
Midwest Region No. 2 seed Tennessee (24-8) was the Southeastern Conference regular-season champion this season. The Volunteers were in the same building in Indianapolis when the Peacocks shot their way past Kentucky in 2022.
These teams share another bond.
All-SEC junior point guard Zakai Zeigler of the Vols faces his half-brother, Armoni Zeigler, a freshman for Saint Peter’s averaging 19.0 minutes and 6.4 points per game. There’s more than bragging rights on the line Thursday in their NCAA Tournament first-round game.
Zakai Zeigler, regarded as one of the top on-ball defenders in college basketball, has picked up the offensive pace down the stretch sparked by a 26-point, 13-assist effort at Kentucky on Feb. 3.
In true older sibling form, he said the brother-vs-brother element is a no-contest.
“I would say just everything he does, I do a little bit better, except for athleticism and height,” said Zakai, a 5-foot-9 speedster. “That’s the only two things that he has better than me, athleticism and height. Everything else, I do better times probably about five.”
Armoni, a 6-foot-4 guard, and Saint Peter’s wouldn’t mind furthering the legend of the Peacocks by handing Tennessee its third consecutive loss. The Vols ended the regular season with a loss to Kentucky and were upset in the SEC tournament by Mississippi State.
“I don’t know why because these guys are crazy, but I think this is the matchup they wanted,” Mason said. “We had a setup, and there were two rows, and I was sitting behind the players. When Tennessee popped up on the screen, our entire team pulled their cell phones out and started recording. When we got called next, there was a celebration.”
–Field Level Media