Tar Heels Play Saint Peter's For Final Four Berth
North Carolina will try to make its 21st Final Four when the Tar Heels face Cinderella darling Saint Peter’s in the last regional final game on Sunday afternoon. Duke and Villanova have already earned spots in the Final Four, and the winner of UNC-Saint Peter’s will draw the Blue Devils next Saturday. That would mark the first time in the history of the rivalry that the Tar Heels and Blue Devils played in the NCAA Tournament.
First, however, UNC needs to get past the Peacocks. The No. 15 seed from Jersey City knocked off No. 2 Kentucky in overtime in the first round, then beat Murray State by 10 to reach the Sweet 16. In front of a partisan crowd from the neighboring state, Saint Peter’s knocked off No. 3 seed Purdue in Philadelphia on Friday, 67-64.
The Peacocks are deep and have a physical, disruptive defense. They rank No. 44 in the nation in turnover percentage, No. 7 in effective shooting defense and No. 14 in three-point defense, all of which could pose a problem for the Tar Heels.
The Peacocks are short on size, however, which could benefit UNC big man Armando Bacot.
The Tar Heels are on a March run of their own, blowing out Marquette by 32, then beating top-seeded Baylor in overtime, bouncing back to pull out the win after blowing a 25-point lead. On Friday, the Heels topped UCLA to earn a spot in the Elite Eight.
All of which sets up, according to seeding totals, the biggest underdog game in Elite Eight history, with the No. 8 seeded Tar Heels facing the No. 15 Peacocks. At 23, the combined seed numbers breaks the previous high by three.
Kansas joins Duke and Villanova in the Final Four. UNC could close out an all blue blood last weekend.
Usual starters for UNC: Leaky Black, Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Brady Manek.
Your officials: John Higgins, Verne Harris, Bo Boroski
An online sports book promised a $200 bonus for bettors on this game if Saint Peter's made a basket. Two and a half minutes in, no bonus has been paid out yet. 7-0 UNC. Time out Saint Peter's
UNC more active on defense, getting deflections and disrupting the Peacocks
Saint Peter's finally hits, cutting the UNC lead to 9-3 at the under 16.
Saint Peter's starting to scrap now, swarming Bacot & causing trouble inside. Lead is 12-7 at the under 12.
Teams are a combined 7-of-27 so far. 2-of-12 from three.
UNC on a 12-2 run as the Heels try to take the drama out of this early. At the under 8, it's 24-9.
And another 7-0 run puts it at 34-13. Saint Peter's takes a time out which turns into the under four. UNC just throttling the Peacocks. Saint P is 4-of-24 from the field.
At the half, UNC is up 38-19. Peacocks were 7-of-31 from the field, 1-of-11 from three. UNC rebounded 20 of 24 Saint Peter's misses (83 percent) and 6 of 21 on their own end (29 percent). Heels were prepared for the Peacock defense, turning it over just once.
Just putting this fact here. No reason
UNC and Duke have played 257 times. 251 of them have taken place in NC. 3 in Atlanta, 2 in Brooklyn, 1 in Manhattan
UNC opens the second half with a 6-1 run. Saint Peter's is 0-for-6 from the field this half. 44-20 at the under 16.
Saint Peter's starting to bring back memories of Baylor. Peacocks hit five of seven shots and force some turnovers. Hubert Davis calls time out at 12:02. Lead is 51-31 but that's down from 27.
Another minute of play sees no scoring, but Leaky Black will go to the line after the under 12 after Ndefo picks up his third foul
At the under 8, things have slowed down as the fouls mount on both sides. UNC still up 55-33.
That will do it. On to the final four as UNC wins 69-49
