Following a festive team dinner, Rick Barnes and Tennessee watched the night session opening at the same location, fully anticipating to see Kentucky, their Southeastern Conference rivals, thrash Saint Peter’s on the same court where the Volunteers had just triumphed in Indianapolis. Rather than backing the No. 2 seed Wildcats, the 2022 NCAA Tournament darlings would pull off a dramatic overtime upset to begin a series of upsets to the Elite Eight, only to lose to North Carolina, the eventual national champion. Tennessee was defeated by Michigan in the Indianapolis second round.
Though a lot has changed for the programs, neither Barnes nor the Peacocks (19-13) need an introduction. They return as the No. 15 seed and will take on Tennessee (24-8), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest and SEC regular-season champion, on Thursday in their opening-round showdown in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to their shared history from their time spent together in Indiana two years ago, Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler, a powerhouse, is playing his half-brother, Saint Peter’s freshman Armoni Zeigler, in a family match.
Shaheen Holloway, the coach of Saint Peter’s at the time, actively pursued Zakai Zeigler, but it was Barnes’ late-summer offer that worked out well for both parties. Barnes used a similar kind of pressure to sign transfer-turned-offensive cheat code Dalton Knecht before his season. Barnes lured Knecht to Knoxville as a self-made NBA prospect after he attended Northeastern Junior College and Northern Colorado.
The SEC Player of the Year is averaging 21.1 points and making over 40% of his 3-pointers, displaying takeover ability that Barnes hasn’t had since leading the Texas Longhorns with Kevin Durant. In his last five games, which included a setback to Mississippi State in Nashville and four games against highly regarded SEC opponents, Zakai Zeigler averaged 17 points. He also sets the tone defensively. Tennessee’s top concern right now may be defensive effectiveness. Corey Washington, a sophomore at Saint Peter’s, scored 24 points in the MAAC tournament championship, including three 20-point performances in March, which were made possible by two victories by two points.
After Holloway was removed as coach, Bashir Mason invigorated the team with a dedication to defense and one another. Mason declared that the Peacocks would win if they scored sixty points. He serves as a sideline cheerleader, and the Peacocks’ backup players are always rushing to make tackles. The offense is prepared to grind out points in order to run out the shot clock, eventually giving the ball to Washington, a sophomore who practically demanded a spot on the 2022–2023 squad. The coaching team attributes the Peacocks’ success this week to this mentality. “Corey is willing to fly from Arkansas on his own dime and try out for a scholarship,” Mason stated. “After guys got on the floor and bounced off the walls, no fouls or out of bounds, I asked him what he thought. He had no scholarships coming out of high school. He worked out with my squad and played pickup with my men. The child approached me and exclaimed, “I adore this place.”
Pundits flag the Vols for an upset alert early in the bracket because of Tennessee’s past, particularly Barnes’ performance in the NCAA Tournament. Of his 27 appearances, which have been divided between Tennessee and Texas, Barnes has lost to a club that is ranked lower. “I told our team, I said, if I were at Saint Peter’s right now, it’d be the first thing I’d put up right there,” Barnes stated. “Look what happened, you can accomplish this.” We also know that it is currently feasible on all fronts.
