March Madness in Jersey City: Saint Peter's advances with stunning upset over Kentucky
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A local team is the buzz at the NCAA tournament after pulling off an upset win.
Their classmates went wild in Jersey City Thursday night as No. 15 seed Saint Peter's University beat the No. 2 seed Kentucky in stunning victory Thursday night. Now, they're on to the next round.
As CBS2's Nick Caloway reports, there's a ton of school pride at Saint Peter's Friday.
Compared to Kentucky, it's a tiny school, with only about 3,000 students. Friday, every one of them are feeling like Cinderella.
From underdogs to the darlings of the tournament, the Saint Peter's Peacocks are strutting to the second round after busting nearly everyone's brackets.
Back in Jersey City Thursday night, more than 200 students watched the massive upset unfold on television.
"You could just feel the Peacock pride like radiating throughout the room," said senior Stephanie Radakovic.
"It was way better than the game I think. There's no atmosphere that could have matched that," said senior Caleb Rossi.
Thursday's upset over Kentucky was Saint Peter's first-ever victory in March Madness, and the biggest win in school history so far, bringing a huge amount of pride to the tiny university.
"Everyone was jumping, screaming. It was just - you could feel the small school pride because we've never been in a situation like this before," Radakovic said.
"It's a very proud moment for the school, for the basketball program, athletics, the city, even the state I would say," said junior Antonio Green.
He's not wrong. Gov. Phil Murphy watched the game on TV and cheered on the Peacocks.
One of the heroes of the game was Doug Edert, a junior from Nutley, New Jersey, who played high school ball at Bergen Catholic.
Edert's father admitted he was nervous.
"I don't want to say this, but even a dad, supposed to root for your son, I'm like 'Hopefully they don't get blown out by 40.' That was my theory," Bill Edert said.
Bill and Allison Edert spoke to Caloway via Zoom from Indianapolis. They said the team embraced the spotlight, and never backed down.
"On any given day, any team can beat anyone. That's what March Madness is about. You know you root for this underdog and they were going to come swinging, punching and keep going," Bill Edert said.
Saint Peter's, still an underdog, will face No. 7 seed Murray State in the 2nd Round on Saturday night. The game tips-off at 7:45 p.m. on CBS2.
