UNC crushes St. Peter's to make the Final Four, earn a first-ever meeting with Duke
Posted March 27, 2022 6:00 p.m. EDT
Updated March 27, 2022 7:45 p.m. EDT
 Saint Peter's Peacocks |
49 |
 North Carolina Tar Heels |
69 |
| Final | |
Everyone knew Carolina was playing well enough to make the Final Four. But the Tar Heels made their second Final Four as an 8-seed by knocking off the No. 1, No. 4, No. 9 and No. 15 seeds in the East Region along the way.
And UNC (28-9) has something it doesn't usually have: a lot of house money.
And the Tar Heels have something they have never had before in their over 100 years as a program: an NCAA Tournament meeting with Duke.
Cinderella 15-seed St. Peter's (27-12) came in having knocked off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the East Region, but even after just a day of rest, Carolina was more than ready.
St. Peter's made just 4 of its first 24 shots and UNC quickly took a double-digit lead that eventually blossomed into 20 points.
The Tar Heels led 38-19 at the half and St. Peter's hit 3 of its final 7 shots to heat up to 22.6 percent.
UNC led by at least 20 points for all but 30 seconds of the second half.
The Tar Heels shot 41% for the game and just 6 of 22 (27.3%) from 3, but St. Peter's shot just 30% and went just 4 of 16 from 3. UNC out-rebounded St. Peter's 49-33.
Armando Bacot led UNC with 20 points and tied his career high with 22 rebounds, 15 of which came in the first half. Brady Manek had 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting and went 4 of 6 from 3 (his teammates were just 2 of 16). Caleb Love had 14 points on 6 of 17 shooting and was the only other Tar Heel in double figures.
Fousseyni Drame led St. Peter's with 12 points while K.C. Ndefo added 10.
UNC will now face Duke yet again after arguably the biggest meeting between the two ever, ratcheting the rivalry up to its highest point in what will at the very least be Mike Krzyzewski's penultimate game, if not his last.
This Final Four is UNC's 21st, the most in history. With a Final Four coming this decade, this marks the ninth straight decade UNC has reached a Final Four, starting in 1946.
Hubert Davis also becomes UNC's first first-year head coach to get his team to a Final Four since Bill Guthridge in 1998.
Carolina and Duke will be the second semifinal of the night next Saturday in New Orleans.
