City of Basketball Love

Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert)
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PHILADELPHIA — UCLA freshman Peyton Watson packed his bags for the Sweet 16 before the start of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.

After staying in touch with coach Mick Cronin on FaceTime during March Madness last season, he didn’t know any better. The five-star recruit followed along from Long Island as the Bruins turned their bid as an 11 seed into a three-week stay at the Indiana bubble, dancing their way into the 2021 Final Four.

UCLA's players at the podium to preview their Sweet 16 game against North Carolina. (Photo: Ty Daubert/CoBL)

Heading into the first round this season, it only made sense for Watson to plan for another long trip.

“We came in to go to Portland,” Cronin said Thursday, ”and Peyton Watson, he had more luggage than a guy going on a trip around the world. I said, ‘What are you doing?' He goes, ‘Well, coach, we're going to win. We ain't going to be back for three weeks.’

“I said, “No, my man. If we win two in Portland, we're coming home.”

It’s hard to blame Watson for the humorous mix up; there hasn’t been a typical March Madness experience in quite some time. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament in 2020, and the NCAA held the entire event in one state last season with limited crowds at games for similar concerns. Finally, teams are back to traveling once again, and the fourth-seeded Bruins have arrived in Philadelphia — bags and all — to compete for the East Region.

UCLA, along with three other teams, made its way to the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday afternoon for practice and press conferences a day before the regional semifinals. The Bruins will face eighth-seeded North Carolina on Friday night in a Sweet 16 battle between two of the most iconic programs in college basketball. Before that pairing, the imposing, third-seeded Purdue will take on No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s, the defining Cinderella story of the 2022 tournament.

Here’s a look at the four teams that will be competing on South Broad Street on Friday, as well as some highlights from Thursday’s press conferences.

Game 1: No. 15 Saint Peter’s (21-11) vs. No. 3 Purdue (29-7)

Saint Peter’s: The Peacocks might just be the hottest team in the country, riding a nine-game winning streak coming into Friday’s matchup, which is the longest in the nation. After winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, Saint Peter’s put itself on the national stage by shocking second-seeded Kentucky in the first round of March Madness. The Peacocks followed it up with another victory over No. 7 seed Murray State in the second round.

Led by a deep rotation, Saint Peter’s is looking to become the first 15th seed to make the Elite 8 in the history of the tournament. Junior guard Doug Edert has emerged as a national star with his shooting performances in the first two rounds, with senior forward KC Ndefo and junior guard Daryl Banks III helping form the offense around him. Junior forwards Fousseyni and Hassan Drame bring size, and junior guard Matthew Lee also handles the ball for the Peacocks.

Highlights

• Saint Peter’s coach Shaheen Holloway is no stranger to this moment. As a player in 2000, he helped lead 10th-seeded Seton Hall to the Sweet 16. On Thursday afternoon, he sat at the podium next to his former sports information director with Seton Hall, Marie Wozniak — now an associate athletic director at Rowan — guiding another underdog from New Jersey.
  “It means everything,” Holloway said. “It's funny, everybody keeps talking about my team that played 22 years ago. Wow. Geez, I'm getting old. You know, it's great. Like you try not to think about that. I try not to put that kind of pressure on the team. We just try to take it one game at a time. But if that could happen (advancing past the Sweet 16), it would be tremendous, unbelievable.
  “Not just for New Jersey, like just for the Tri-State area, period, to have a team represented in the Elite 8 is something that you think about doing as a coach. It's hard to get to this point, so when you're here, you've just got to continue to keep working and try to get further and further.”

• With all the national attention on Edert, Buffalo Wild Wings signed him to an endorsement deal under the name, image and likeness (NIL) rules.
  “Man, you know what? It's funny, Doug and I had a conversation about that yesterday,” Holloway said. “Everybody was telling me what was going on yesterday, so I know why now. It's from the chicken wings.”
  Edert has certainly cashed in on some of the publicity, but he’s still maintaining focus on the game. When asked about the specifics of his NIL deal, he declined to go into detail.
  “With all due respect, no comment,” he said, drawing laughter from the entire room.

Purdue: A year after losing in the first round as a four seed, the Boilermakers took care of business in the early rounds. They defeated No. 14 seed Yale in the opener, advancing to move past sixth-seeded Texas to make the Sweet 16.

This Purdue squad brings size that no opponent in the East Region can compare to. 7-foot-4 sophomore center Zach Edey and 6-foot-10 senior Trevion Williams are a tough task for any team to handle, providing an inside presence at nearly all times with staggered minutes. The pair of bigs complement dynamic guard Jaden Ivey, a sophomore averaging 17.6 points per game.

Highlights

• The Boilermakers have a lot of admiration for Saint Peter’s, and Matt Painter’s team won’t be taking the Peacocks lightly.
  “I think our mindset going into this tournament and coming into Philly is just treating every team like they're the best team in the tournament,” Williams said. “They're here for a reason, and you've got to respect them. We've already — like I said, if you just look at what we've been through as a team, we lose in the first round to North Texas, nobody expected that. But I don't think we respected them. I don't think we were as ready as we thought we were.”
  Ready to take on Saint Peter’s, Purdie believes its size will give them an advantage. The Boilermakers bigs will focus on doing damage inside against an undersized opponent.
  “It's kind of been the thing for the last two teams that they don't have the size matchups,” Edey said. “We've dominated the offensive glass, getting my shots up, drawing a lot of fouls because that's what they have to do to guard me. Keep playing like I have the last two games, and hopefully it works.”

Game 2: No. 8 North Carolina (26-9) vs. No. 4 UCLA (27-7)

North Carolina: The Tar Heels are back in the Sweet 16 for the 30th time in program history, facing a UCLA program with just as much history. UNC beat ninth-seeded Marquette in the first round of the tournament before upsetting No. 1 seed Baylor in overtime to make the regional.

North Carolina is headlined by 6-foot-10 junior forward Armando Bacot, who has the third most rebounds and double-doubles in the country. Forwards Brady Manek, a grad student, and senior Leaky Black add more length for the Tar Heels, while sophomore Caleb Love is their guard scorer.

Highlights

• The players at North Carolina, a program with six national championships, are excited for the chance to play the Bruins, the owners of a record 11 national titles. The two are powerhouses in college basketball, and meeting in the tournament will help further the schools’ legacies in the sport.
  “UNC versus UCLA is two big-time programs,” Bacot said. “And just for us to be able to meet in the Sweet 16, especially with all the history we have with that program, it's a great opportunity and we know a lot of people will be watching, too.”

• Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, a former North Carolina and NBA player, said making the Final Four in 1991 was the greatest experience of his basketball life. He’s been proud of everything his team has done to this point, but still told his team wants them to reach that goal of advancing past the regional.
  ‘I went to the Final Four and we lost,” he said. “I played 12 years in the NBA, and my No. 1 greatest experience personally as a player was to play in the Final Four. I said, ‘Guys, I desperately want you to have that experience. I want you to get to the Final Four. I want you to get to the final game. I want you to do that.’”

UCLA: The Bruins are back in the Sweet 16 following last year’s Final Four run, fending off No. 13 seed Akron in the first round and cruising past fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s.

Junior guard Tyger Campbell has been a standout in the tournament thus far, averaging 16.0 points in two games. Junior Johnny Zuzang and senior Jules Bernard are other weapons in the UCLA guard lineup. The wild card here is junior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who has been a key player for the Bruins, but suffered an ankle injury in the second round. He said on Thursday that he is “day-to-day.”

Highlights

• Jaquez's status likely won’t be clear until close to game time. The Bruins gave him a look in practice Thursday and will determine if he can be a contributor.
  “Hopefully he can get some things done,” Cronin said. “He's going to want to try to play. The question is: can he be effective? Playing is one thing. Can he play well?”

• The Bruins players said their favorite activity to do as a team is playing Super Smash Bros. together in Campbell’s room. There was some debate as to who is the best Smash player on the team, but Campbell claimed the top spot. His go-to character is King K. Rool, but that doesn’t mean he can’t “go random and get some wins.”