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After Holloway guided tiny Saint Peter's to a championship in
the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, he became a shooting
star in the coaching ranks as the 15th-seeded Peacocks felled
Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. He is
widely expected to be offered the vacant coaching job at his
alma mater, Seton Hall, but will not address what he calls
"rumors."
In his first year as a head coach, Davis led his own alma mater
to an eighth seed and upsets of No. 1 seed Baylor and No. 4 UCLA
to reach the Elite Eight. But he declined a question Friday
night about what his accomplishment meant to him.
"It's just not about me at all," Davis said. "Coaching is an act
of service."
One of these men will take his program to the Final Four in
improbable fashion when the Tar Heels (27-9) and Peacocks
(22-11) meet Sunday in the East Region's Elite Eight game.
North Carolina opened at 8.0-point favorites at DraftKings and
PointsBet, but the line has moved to 8.5 at the later despite
St. Peter's backed by 73 percent of the spread bets and 61
percent of the handle. The Tar Heels have drawn 3.9 percent of
the national title bets at PointsBet compared to 5.3 percent for
the Peacocks.
St. Peter's is also being supported by 71 percent of the spread
bets and 59 percent of the money at DraftKings. The Peacocks
have also drawn 5 percent of the national title bets at the
sportsbook while the Tar Heels still aren't among the top 10
since the start of the tournament.
Saint Peter's defeated Purdue 67-64 Friday in the Sweet 16,
using its signature relentless defense to bottle up NBA prospect
Jaden Ivey, who finished with just nine points on 4-of-12
shooting with six turnovers. Purdue was rated the most efficient
offense in the country by KenPom.com entering the game.
"Coach did a great job preparing us with the scout," said Daryl
Banks III, who scored a team-high 14 points. "We knew their
tendencies and what they did. We knew they were also going to go
inside a lot with the height difference with us. But we just
stuck to our defensive principles, executed when we needed to,
and it worked out for us."
The Peacocks are now the lowest seed ever to advance this far in
NCAA Tournament history. They've captured the imaginations of
sports fans around the country, but in particular in Jersey City
and throughout the state of New Jersey. Their regional games
being held in Philadelphia gave the Peacocks an unmistakable
home-court advantage.
"I can't believe the support that we're having," Holloway said.
"This is unbelievable. Jersey City has been unbelievable for us.
But I want to give a shout-out to our student-athletes and the
whole student body. They're taking buses down here, they're
doing videos, a watch party. It's been tremendous."
Davis, who played in the 1991 Final Four with North Carolina,
called Holloway's achievement unbelievable.
"The thing that just jumps right out is how much his players
love playing for him, and they have his personality," Davis
said. "They have a chip on their shoulder and a toughness and a
confidence to give everything that they have on both ends of the
floor on every play.
"Tremendous chemistry. On Sunday it'll be our toughest game of
the year."
That speaks volumes considering the road North Carolina has
forged to this point. The Tar Heels spoiled Mike Krzyzewski's
final home game as the coach at Duke with a 94-81 stunner on
March 5. It came as part of a prolonged stretch in which the Tar
Heels have won 15 of 18 games, including taking down defending
national champion Baylor in the tourney's second round.
Caleb Love scored a career-high 30 points Friday, 27 in the
second half, as North Carolina beat UCLA 73-66 with Davis'
retired predecessor Roy Williams watching from the stands.
"Coach Davis just wanted me to attack the basket," Love said.
"He feels that I'm best ... when I'm best going downhill. I got
a few layups going, getting downhill, and then the outside shot
started to fall. Once you get those, see them go through, your
rhythm is there."
If both teams win their Elite Eight games this weekend, North
Carolina and Duke would meet in the Final Four in New Orleans.
The rivals have never played one another in the NCAA Tournament.
--Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
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