**Locker Room Talk is a Slice of Culture series where we highlight different athletes, coaches and more from local high schools and colleges from Hudson County and New Jersey overall.
Photo by Neidy Gutierrez / SOC Images.
Last March, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks punched their ticket to another NCAA March Madness Tournament, seeking a tale that went even further than their first Cinderella run in 2022.
And though they still didn’t get their fairytale ending that season, Armoni Ziegler, the Peacocks’ freshman shooting guard from New York, stood there before the final buzzer against the Tennessee Volunteers, and was “just happy to be there” on the national stage. But this season Ziegler told Slice of Culture that he wants more; he’s hungry for one thing: another ticket to the dance.
“Me and my teammates, we all got a good bond with each other. We know, though, when to play and when not to play. Like we get on the court, [and we know] we’re not playing around.”
The Peacocks (9-10 conference, 11-17 overall) wrap up their regular season with a home game against Canisius at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 in the Run Baby Run Arena in Jersey City.
Their next stop? Atlantic City where they’ll take on their first to-be-determined opponent for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship chip. That’ll run from Tuesday, March 11 to Saturday, March 15.
They currently sit at the No. 6 seed in their division. If all goes well, as it did in 2022 and 2024, winning the MAAC tournament would mean another shot at the March Madness magic.
But for Ziegler, basketball wasn’t always his top sport.
When he was younger, he preferred football and claimed being more of a “football kid,” but as time went on, he started playing basketball and it just continued to “elevate.”
If you ask what his favorite thing about the sport is, he’ll give you two answers: “I just love to compete” and “trash talking with others,” he laughed.
Growing up in Long Island, New York, Ziegler said he used to go to a lot of New York Knicks games, so he always has in his head, “I wanna be on this floor one day. I wanna play here. That’s my goal.”
But first, he has to go through what most NBA players have gone through before going pro: competing for a spot in the NCAA March Madness Tournament with intentions to win it all.
With Jersey City’s Saint Peter’s University, a Division I school, the 6’4” athlete is fighting for that chance at the national chip. He told Slice of Culture that when he was getting recruited by schools, SPU eventually came into the mix and that’s when he met Coach Bashir Mason, or as he refers to him, “Coach Bash,” who he credits their “nice relationship” for bringing him into the Hudson County university.
In his freshman year, he was the only true freshman on the roster, meaning he was the sole player that was in their first year of college and eligible to compete at the collegiate athletic level. Some highlights that season included 10 points in his debut against Seton Hall, 14 points in a Peacocks victory over Manhattan and some airtime on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for a dunk against Manhattan as well as social media highlight reels by Overtime and College Basketball on Fox.
And, of course, an appearance in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
“I mean the emotions I was feeling, I don’t even remember like, I ain’t gonna lie, [but] it was just fun. Everything about it was just fun,” he laughed.
“I wasn’t really playing [in the game] like that either… Some people [would] be mad, but I wasn’t mad. I was just very excited. I was just happy to be there.”
In the 2024 tournament, the Peacocks were selected as the No. 15 seed in the Midwest bracket and were paired up with No. 2 seed Tennessee, which is also the university that Ziegler’s brother, Zakai, plays at.
“That’s my brother, it’s my heart, it’s my world.” Armoni said ahead of their matchup.
If you noticed that the brothers wear the same No. 5, it’s because that’s a family number, Armoni said, but he laughed and added: “He copied me though.”
The Vols went on to win 83-49, but were eventually bounced out of the tournament and the No. 1 overall seed UConn—coached by Dan Hurley, the son of Jersey City admired coach Bob Hurley—took home the trophy.
This time around, Ziegler said he “prays” that SPU meets Tennessee in the matchup again.
Ziegler, who’s now a sophomore majoring in sports management, said he’s learned a lot from his freshman year, thanks to his older teammates who helped him fix his rookie mistakes.
This season, his shot percentages are up; he’s averaging 2.5 boards per game; and has racked up 29 steals in the season as well as being one of the top offensive players in some games.
Walking on the street and around campus, Ziegler emphasized that there’s “a lot of love” from the community.
As the shooting guard and his teammates prepare for the upcoming MAAC tournament, he said just to expect him to be “playing hard and just being me.”
The 2025 March Madness kicks off with its Selection Sunday on March 16 with the First Four to hit on March 18 and 19.
