Tennessee NCAA Tournament Preview: A Quick Look At Saint Peter’s

Tennessee basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight time, landing the two-seed in the Midwest Region where they’ll face Saint Peter’s in the first round in Charlotte.

The Peacocks landed the 15-seed in the Midwest Region after winning the MAAC Tournament and returns to the NCAA Tournament just two years after they made a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight.

Let’s take a quick look at Saint Peter’s

How Saint Peter’s Got Here

Saint Peter’s posted a 19-13 (12-8 MEAC) record this season tying for third place in the MEAC regular season rankings.

The Peacocks played two Big Six teams in the regular season, losing 70-59 at Seton Hall and 71-40 at Rutgers. They also played NCAA Tournament team Duquesne, losing 68-59.

It was a streaky year for Saint Peter’s. The Peacocks dropped four of their first five games and then got hot winning their first five conference games. They lost six of their next eight games, ran off a five-game winning streak and then lost its final two games of the regular season.

Saint Peter’s defeated Rider, Quinnipiac and Fairfield by a combined nine points in its three games in the MEAC Tournament to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Where Saint Peter’s Thrives

The answer is short. Defense.

Saint Peter’s ranks 76th in adjusted defensive efficiency in KenPom and has been really good at both forcing turnovers and forcing missed shots.

The Peacocks rank 22nd nationally in effective field goal percentage and 31st and in turnover percentage. There’s two flaws with Saint Peter’s defense, they tend to foul at a high clip and really struggle on the defensive glass where opponents rebound nearly 30% of their misses.

Twenty-four NCAA Tournament teams rank lower in adjusted defensive efficiency including Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and every 14, 15 and 16 seed in the field.

Saint Peter’s plays at a very slow pace which could help them shorten the game against Tennessee and give them a better chance to pull the upset.

The Peacocks are also a deep team, playing nine different players at least 13 minutes per game.

More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Opens As Massive Favorites Against Saint Peter’s

Where Saint Peter’s Struggles

The answer is once again short. Offense

While Saint Peter’s has a middle of the pack NCAAA Tournament defense, they have the second worst offense in the entire field.

The Peacocks turn the ball over at an extremely high rate and could be particularly susceptible to Tennessee’s ball pressure. That could be a key for Tennessee turning the pace up in this game and running away from the Peacocks.

Saint Peter’s is an average three-point shooting team but has been a horrible two-point shooting team this season. Its 42.4 shooting percentage from two-point range ranks 359th nationally out of 362 teams.

While Saint Peter’s struggles on the defensive glass, they’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, snagging 35% of its misses.

Which leads to an important question before playing any low seed, how much size does Saint Peter’s have? The Peacocks have a tall backcourt, two 6-foot-3, one 6-foot-4 and a 6-foot-5 guard.

It’s hard to get a read on Saint Peter’s front court. Its two starters are 6-foot-6 (Corey Washington) and 6-foot 7 (Michael Houge) respectively. However, Saint Peter’s two bench big men are 6-foot-9 (Mouhamed Sow) and 6-foot-10 (Stephon Roberts). Sow plays 22.6 minutes and Roberts plays 13 minutes per game.

So Tennessee will have a big size advantage against Saint Peter’s starting front court. But the Peacocks have some big bodies they can throw at Jonas Aidoo.

Standpoint Peacocks

Power forward Corey Washington is the go-to guy on the offensive end, averaging 16.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-6 forward is capable of shooting three-pointers, making 23 triples this season at a 32% rate.

But primarily, Washington does his damage at the basket and that could bode well for Jonas Aidoo to potentially slow him down while Josiah-Jordan James guards the 6-foot-7 forward Michael Houge.

Latrell Reid is the only over Saint Peter’s player averaging double-digit points per game. The 6-foot-3 point guard averages 11.1 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting only 37% from the field but a solid 35% from three-point range.

But this is an overall balanced Saint Peter’s team. Six different Peacocks average between 5.2 and 8.5 points per game. Shooting guard Marcus Randolph is Saint Peter’s best three-point shooter. The Richmond transfer is shooting 41% from three-point range on 99 attempts this season.

Zakai Zeigler’s half-brother Armoni is Saint Peter’s next best three-pointer shooter by percentage, making 23-of-65 attempts (35%) from deep this season.