New York- The NCAA “March Madness” Basketball tournament is one of the most exciting sports times of the year. We have seen upsets nearly every night with historic performances from college teams across the country. This past Friday, 15-seed St. Peter’s defeated 3-seed Purdue by a final of 67-64. The Peacocks remain making history with each game this tournament. St. Peters, based in Jersey City, New Jersey, is the first 15-seed in NCAA history to reach the Elite Eight. On Sunday afternoon, the Peacocks will face off against the 8-seed North Carolina Tar Heels for a shot to reach the Final Four.
Let’s be honest, the majority of us did not even know where St. Peters was located a week ago. Most low seeds within the past NCAA Basketball tournament have made short runs if they advanced to begin with. College teams that come to mind from previous years are Oral Roberts as well as Loyola Chicago. Both were not desired teams when filling out brackets, similar to St. Peters. However, these teams busted everyone’s bracket within the first weekend and plus some in the March Madness tournament.
Their run has been legendary to say the least. Last week, the Peacocks entered the Round of 64 facing off against the two-seed, Kentucky as 18.5-point underdogs. That doesn’t matter to the “Cinderella” St. Peter’s basketball team. They defeated the Wildcats in a thriller by a final score of 85-79.
📸 Photo Credit: Saint Peter’s Men’s Basketball @PeacocksMBB from Twitter
In the Round of 32, the Peacocks matched up against 7 Murray State. Entering the night, St. Peters opening line closed at +8, nearly double digit underdogs. Led by head coach, Shaheen Halloway, the squad shows the capability to compete against opponents who have more talent than the Peacocks. We have seen this tournament and past ones, the heart and mindsets of certain teams on the court shows to overcome talent. The Peacocks defeated Murray State by a final of 70-60 in Indianapolis.
Matthew Lee from San Juan, Puerto Rico is a lead contributor to St. Peters’ success throughout the season and tournament. In 29 games played, Lee on 34.6% shooting from the field, has totaled 7 points, and nearly 3 assists per game. The junior out of Dohn Prep High School (Ohio) is a versatile guard on both spectrums of defensive and offensive play.
Matthew Lee Statistics in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (3 games):
📸 Photo Credit: Saint Peter’s Men’s Basketball @PeacocksMBB from Twitter
6.6 points per game, 3.6 assists per game, 1 block, 1 steal
His father, Alfred “Butch” Lee, played in the NBA from 1978-1980. Alfred Lee was the first-ever Puerto-Rican-born NBA player. He played for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers along with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of the 1979 NBA Champion Lakers led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdull-Jabbar. For his NBA career (96 games), Lee averaged 8.1 points and 3.2 assists per game.
Throughout his college career, Lee has shown that he is a team player. By developing his skills, he started in 24 of the 29 games played this year and provided minutes for the Peacocks off the bench when asked upon. On January 30, 2021, Lee scored a season-high 20 points in a loss at Iona. He is working and studying towards a major degree in Sports Management.
At Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, St. Peter’s will battle 8-seed North Carolina led by guard Caleb Love. The Tar Heels and Peacocks face off to see who will be the last team standing out of the Eastern Region. Matthew Lee and the Peacocks look to continue their reign on March Madness and their Cinderella story on Sunday with tipoff set for 5:05pm.
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