The largest tournament in all of college sports, the Men’s NCAA March Madness tournament, has come and is nearly gone. The final four of the Kansas Jayhawks, Duke Blue Devils, Villanova Wildcats, and North Carolina Tar Heels will face off for the chance to be crowned champions. This final four is made up entirely of ‘Blue Blood’ programs — historically dominant, talent-driven, and hungry as ever to prove their program is on top.

However, basketball fans often get tired of the same programs going deep into the tournament. That’s the beauty of Cinderella teams. Enter this year’s darling of the dance – the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.

A small school from New Jersey and a member of the MAAC conference, no one thought anything of the Peacocks going into March. In fact, heading into the tournament, the NCAA ranked St. Peters the 124th best team in the nation at the end of the regular season. What came next was nothing short of a miracle.

“They are the greatest underdog in NCAA history,” said senior Ashmit Verma. “They had horrible practice facilities, but it just didn’t matter. They are better than Oral Roberts or any other Cinderella team has ever been.”

The Peacocks became the first ever 15 seed to make it to the Elite 8 of the tournament, where they ultimately met their demise to a talented UNC roster. However, the Peacocks had already left their mark on the nation — beating 2 seed Kentucky, 3 seed Purdue, and 7 seed Murray State to make it as far as they did. This real-life fairy tale captured the hearts of viewers everywhere, making their run more than just that; Saint Peter’s became an inspiration.

“Saint Peter’s was ‘the people’s team,’” junior Michael Watson expressed. “This team represented more than just the school…they represented the everyday man trying to make it out there.”

The leader of this Peacocks line-up is national sweetheart Doug Edert. The mustached sharp-shooter caught the eyes and hearts of America due to his play and charming personality.

“He was my favorite player in the tournament,” senior Trey Griswold remarked. “He’s so swaggy…and that mustache is just incredible. He got sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, which is just great business.”

March Madness has many allures, but none may be greater than making brackets, attempting to predict the outcome of the event. The odds of being perfect come out to 1 in 120.2 billion if you have an understanding of basketball, or 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 if you were to randomly pick teams.

Every year, wildly unpredictable upsets occur, which is what makes the odds so unfathomably slim. While it’s easy to love the Peacocks, it’s more likely than not they ruined your bracket. If beating national title contender Kentucky in the first round didn’t bust your bracket, then the Peacock’s defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 definitely did.

“Honestly, I’m not a big fan of Saint Peter’s. I had Kentucky winning in a lot of brackets,” said senior and college basketball super-fan Connor Smith. “It’s great to see upsets happen, but it’s the worst when you don’t call them.”

Although their storybook may have finally closed, their tale will remain incredible. The Saint Peter’s Peacocks will always be remembered as the greatest Cinderella team of all time.