Saint Peter’s run to the Elite Eight was nothing short of spectacular, as the Peacocks took down Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue to earn a shot at North Carolina on Sunday. All tournament, Saint Peter’s had done a great job of setting the tone early, but on this night in Philadelphia, it was the Tar Heels that asserted their dominance from the jump and never relented.
UNC took a 9-0 lead out of the gates and while the Peacocks would settle in briefly after that, cutting the lead to 12-7, the size and speed of the Tar Heels simply overwhelmed Saint Peter’s from the jump, flying around on defense to bother Peacock shooters, who found themselves hurrying just to get looks off.
SWATTED BY BLACK
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On the offensive end, it was Caleb Love and Brady Manek who got it going to open up a massive halftime lead for North Carolina. Love had 12 of his points in the first half, creating great looks for himself and his teammates.
This Caleb Love lay-in
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Love to Bacot connection
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Manek, meanwhile, found the stroke from three-point range as he’s shown off all tournament on his way to a 19-point night, and Armando Bacot was a force in the paint that the Peacocks had no answers for on the glass, piling up 22 rebounds (including 15 in the first half) to go along with 20 points.
CALEB LOVE COMING THROUGH
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Ultimately, the Heels coasted to a 69-49 win and set up the first ever meeting in the men’s tournament with rival Duke in the Final Four, which will be the late game on Saturday night in New Orleans on TBS, with storylines galore for what Carolina fans will hope is a second chance to spoil Coach K’s final season after dominating Duke in his last home game.
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