A never-before-seen stretch in NCAA Tournament history came to an end last night.
The St. Peter’s Peacocks, hailing from a tiny university in Jersey City, had their season snapped last night at the hands of North Carolina. The Tar Heels destroyed the Peacocks in front of a sold-out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, 19,500 fans, by a score of 69-49.
It was clear that the pressure of the big stage had finally caught up to the Peacocks. After St. Peter’s began the game by missing the first three shots, North Carolina took advantage of the opportunities and went ahead early, never looking back. It was a gruesome blowout loss on the national stage for St. Peter’s.
“We just told each other, just stay together,” Peacocks forward KC Ndefo said. “What we did was amazing.”
To everyone who helped share the story of a dude with an ugly mustache and a gritty group of underdogs from Jersey City: thank you for making these past 10 days as special as they were.
And to everyone who made this story even remotely possible in the first place: THANK YOU.
— Saint Peter's Men's Basketball (@PeacocksMBB) March 28, 2022
Indeed, it was amazing. St. Peter’s became the first 15-seed to ever reach the Elite Eight, when they miraculously beat Purdue on Friday, March 25, by a slim 67-64 margin. But their Cinderella story came to an end last night at the hands of North Carolina, who now advance to face their rival, Duke, in the Final Four in New Orleans this Saturday (March 27).
“I really thought we were going to win this game,” Peacocks coach Shaheen Holloway, who earns an average salary of $266,000, said after the game. “I’ll be honest with you. No disrespect to them. I just thought we could match up with them.”
Unfortunately for St. Peter’s and their fans, the Peacocks could not match up with them. In other March Madness matchups, Stanford defeated Texas last night by a score of 59-50, and South Carolina blew out Creighton with an 80-50 win, an even larger margin than the St. Peter’s-UNC game.
What did you think of St. Peter’s historic run? Who do you think will win the whole NCAA Tournament? Let us know, by either leaving a reaction below or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
