The Final Four matchups of the NCAA tournament are set as the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels ended the Cinderella story of No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks on Sunday.
UNC got off to a hot start, outscoring St. Peter’s by 19 points in the first half, ending the game with a 69-49 victory. The second half was a lot more evenly matched, but the Peacocks were unable to dig out of the early hole.
Armando Bacot led all scorers with 20 points for UNC, adding an impressive 22 rebounds. Brady Manek contributed with 19 points, Caleb Love put up 14, and Fousseyni Drame led St. Peter’s with 12 points.
After the final buzzer, UNC players showered head coach Hubert Davis with confetti. Coach Davis then delivered an emotional interview, fighting tears as he expressed the joy of reaching the Final Four.
“I really wanted this for them,” Davis said. “It’s tears of joy being able to be in their lives.”
Kansas takes care of business vs Miami
The other Sunday game was also a blowout by the favorite, with No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks defeating No. 10 Miami Hurricanes by 26 points after trailing at the break. Halftime saw Miami lead 35-29, but Kansas scored 47 points and held the underdogs to 15 in the second half for a final score of 76-50.
Ochai Agbaji led Kansas in scoring with 18 points, tied with Miami’s Kameron McGusty for the game-high. Isaiah Wong (15) was the only other Miami player to score more than five points.
Meanwhile, David McCormack and Christrian Braun each dropped a respective 15 and 12 points for the Jayhawks. Both Remy Martin and Mitch Lightfoot were one point away from double-figures in scoring for Kansas.
Final Four matches
Both Final Four matches will be played Saturday, April 2. No.1 seed Kansas will take on No. 2 Villanova at 15:09 PT.
Old rivals Duke and UNC will face off in the Final Four for the first time in NCAA tournament history. Tipoff is scheduled for 17:49 PT.
Marca
