PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WHTM) — Philly takes center stage this weekend for the NCAA East Regional. Saint Peter's, Purdue, UCLA and UNC in town and ready for Friday night's Sweet 16 games.
No. 15 Saint Peter's vs. No. 3 Purdue
The top seed left in the East Region is No. 3 Purdue, looking to make their second Elite Eight appearance in just three years. But the Boilermakers have all the pressure, as the highest seed left.
Plus they have to face the story of the tournament, the Cinderella No. 15 Saint Peter's Peacocks. This small school from New Jersey knocked off second-seeded Kentucky and then red hot Murray State to become just the third 15 seed to make the Sweet 16.
"Everyone on our team has a chip on their shoulder, especially our coach too," said Doug Edert, Saint Peter's junior guard. "We're all looking to prove ourselves as a program as a basketball team."
This is basically a home game for the Peacocks from New Jersey, who are only 93 miles down the Jersey Turnpike from campus.
"Being on this coast being in New York and New Jersey you have a different type of toughness," said Peacocks junior guard Daryl Banks III. "[We have a] different type of swag when you're playing the game of basketball. It's like a chip on your shoulder really. It's a different breed of basketball all of us embrace when we play."
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 8 UNC
In the other Sweet 16 matchup, No. 4 UCLA travels to the east coast to take on UNC. The Tar Heels shocked top-seeded Baylor in the second round to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Does that underdog mentality translate into a chip on UNC's shoulders???
"I don't think we pay attention to that," said UNC's Armando Bacot. "I don't think we really go into any game thinking that any team we're playing are better than us. I guess that's just more for y'all in the people to really see it as. I don't think we go into any game thinking we're the underdog or embracing it like an underdog role or what not."
Practices wrapped up Thursday afternoon, before the Sweet 16 games on Friday night inside the Wells Fargo Center.
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