Carolina shattered Saint Peter’s glass slipper with authority Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, taking control early against the upset-minded Peacocks and never looking back. When the buzzer sounded, the Tar Heels could celebrate a 69-49 Elite Eight win and a trip to the program’s 21st Final Four. That extends UNC’s own national record.

Again: Carolina will appear in the Final Four in 2022. It’s a prospect that once seemed as improbable as beating Saint Peter’s to get there, as improbable as being the betting favorite in the Elite Eight as a No. 8 seed, and as improbable as facing the Duke Blue Devils in the national semifinals. Consider it just one more dose of March Madness.

“It was something that I just desperately wanted for [the players,]” said head coach Hubert Davis. “This is probably the most nervous I was before a game, because I just really wanted them to go to the Final Four. And for these guys to have this experience, to be able to go to the Final Four, brings so much joy to my heart.”

The Peacocks got heavy doses of Armando Bacot early and often in the game, as the junior forward became the fourth Tar Heel this tournament to score at least 20 points. Bacot also grabbed 22 rebounds to give him not only the national lead with 29 double-doubles, but also his second 20-20 game this season. Bacot lorded his size advantage over the Peacock defenders all night, and Carolina ended with a decisive 49-33 advantage on the glass. UNC also claimed a 14-7 advantage in offensive rebounds, which translated to an identical 14-7 advantage in second-chance points.

“We knew the game plan going into this game,” said sophomore guard R.J. Davis. “We play defense and we offensive rebound, we know we’ll be successful. Coming into the game, we just wanted to play Carolina basketball and that was evident tonight.”

The Carolina defense cracked down on the Peacocks in the first half, allowing the Tar Heels to spring to a 9-0 start. The lead grew as large as 21 points at 34-13 after a layup from Bacot. Saint Peter’s shot 7-31 (22.6 percent) in the first half, not hitting a shot for the first 4:12 of the game and going a stretch of 5:50 in the middle of the half without a basket. Only two Peacocks ended with 10 or more points, and only one shot at least 50 percent from the floor. Saint Peter’s made only four three-pointers all game.

Caleb Love and Brady Manek each joined Bacot as Tar Heels in double figures. Manek rebounded from a poor shooting performance Friday against UCLA by knocking down four of his six three-point shots and seven of 11 shots overall to end with 19 points.

“It’s unbelievable,” Manek said. “I actually just got done talking with Ms. Davis about how a kid from Oklahoma ends up in North Carolina and somehow has a fifth year. That’s unbelievable. It’s been an unbelievable story so far. It’s not over yet.”

Love capped his 14-point showing with a thunderous slam dunk in transition after an R.J. Davis steal. The play effectively iced the game after Saint Peter’s cut a 27-point lead down to as little as 19, but could get no further.

“We just wanted to play North Carolina basketball,” said senior wing Leaky Black. “[Saint Peter’s] hang their hat on punching teams in the mouth, being the underdog, that kind of thing. We just had to let them know it wasn’t going to happen tonight.”

The night is a historic one for the program, and here are just a few quick statistics from the game:

  • Carolina moved into sole possession of first place all-time in NCAA Tournament wins, moving past a tie with Kentucky. The Tar Heels have 130 tournament wins.
  • Hubert Davis became the first Division I head coach to appear in the Final Four in his first season since UNC’s own Bill Guthridge did so in 1998.
  • The Tar Heels are in the Final Four as a No. 8 seed for the second time in program history. The first time also came under Guthridge in 2000.
  • UNC has appeared in the Final Four in every decade going back to the 1940s.
  • Hubert Davis is also just the second man ever to play in and coach in a Final Four, joining Kansas’ Dick Harp.

Davis was clearly emotional in the immediate aftermath of the game, holding back tears as the players mobbed him on the court.

“It shows how much he cares about us and cares about the game,” said Love. “We feed off him and his energy and so that’s why you see us playing so hard for him. It’s his first year. So we wanted to go all out for him.”

“I haven’t really had time to think,” Davis said. “And it was the first time that I can remember in the last 11-and-a-half months that I could take a deep breath, and it just came out. It’s not just this year. It’s everything. What this job has meant to me, how it’s impacted my wife and my kids, the players, their parents, recruiting. It’s just been a lot. And when I finally could take a deep breath and it looked like we were going to win, I just couldn’t hold it in.”

Joining Carolina in New Orleans for the Final Four next weekend will be No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 2 seed Duke. Carolina will play the Blue Devils in Sunday night’s second national semifinal, the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the two schools.

“I haven’t thought about it at all,” Davis said. “The only thing on my mind is celebrating with the rest of the players on what just happened today. Next week will be next week. And we’ll deal with that next week. But right now I don’t want to think about next week and lose the moment of today.”

Still, the first-year head coach couldn’t quite hold in his excitement about his team’s upcoming trip to the Big Easy.

“I think we’re scheduled to leave on Wednesday,” Davis said. “I’d like to leave tonight! I want to get there tonight!”

 

Featured image via Todd Melet. For a complete photo gallery, click here.

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