PHILADELPHIA — Following Saint Peter's Sunday loss to North Carolina, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop promised on Twitter that the city would still hold a parade and a keys to the city ceremony for the team, after its historic NCAA tournament run.

The Tar Heels crushed all hope of a March Madness miracle, getting 20 points and 22 rebounds from Armando Bacot in a wire-to-wire 69-49 runaway over the 15th-seeded Peacocks.

Eighth-seeded North Carolina (28-9) made its record 21st Final Four, and next on their list is none other than arch-rival Duke and its soon-to-be-retiring coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

Next Saturday in New Orleans will mark the first Final Four meeting — first NCAA Tournament meeting, in fact — between the Tobacco Road arch-rivals whose campuses are separated by 11 miles.

While Coach K's winding road to retirement has been a beauty to watch this March, nothing has captured more imaginations than the run put on by underdog Saint Peter's.

NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
North Carolina's Armando Bacot, center, goes up for a dunk between St. Peter's Fousseyni Drame, left, and KC Ndefo during the first half of a game in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
loading...

The entire basketball budget for this scrappy group from Jersey City is $1.6 million — or around $400,000 less than what Tar Heels first-year coach Hubert Davis, who was sobbing as his players enveloped him after the buzzer, makes in a year.

Two nights earlier, Saint Peter's (21-12) beat Purdue to become the first 15 seed to advance to an Elite Eight.

NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
St. Peter's Doug Edert, left, and North Carolina's Leaky Black battle for a loose ball during the first half of a game in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
loading...

They are hardly the first team to see grand plans undone by one of the country's top-line power programs.

It got ugly early.

NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
St. Peter's Isiah Dasher, right, goes up for a shot against North Carolina's R.J. Davis, center, and Brady Manek during the first half of a game in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
loading...
NCAA St Peters Basketball Reax
People react as they attend an on-campus watch party at Saint Peter's during the NCAA men's college basketball tournament game between Saint Peter's and North Carolina, Sunday in Jersey City (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
loading...

After Carolina's Leaky Black missed a free throw 2 1/2 minutes in, Bacot edged in for the offensive rebound and an easy putback. It gave Carolina a 7-0 lead.

They trailed 21-7 after missing their first six shots, and 16 of their first 19.

In its three tournament wins over Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue, Saint Peter's had never trailed by more than six.

The Peacocks, whose 10-game win streak ended, moved the ball well and got plenty of good looks over the first 10 minutes.

NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
St. Peter's Isiah Dasher (13) tries to get past North Carolina's Caleb Love (2) during the first half of a game in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
loading...

Some shots went halfway down and rimmed out. Others bounced twice on the iron but wouldn't fall.

Late in the first half, Daryl Banks III swooped in for what looked like a windmill jam.

It got rejected — by the front of the rim. It made the Peacocks 5 for 27 on the night, and when Bacot dunked on the next possession, North Carolina led 36-15.

KC Ndefo led Saint Peter's with 10 points.

NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
North Carolina's Armando Bacot, right, collides with St. Peter's KC Ndefo during the first half of a game in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
loading...
NCAA St Peters North Carolina Basketball
A St. Peter's fan cheers during the first half of a college basketball game against North Carolina in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament, Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
loading...

U.S. Rep. Albio Sires — a St. Peter's alum himself — tweeted after Sunday's game, "I am so proud of this team. They made history #StrutUp."

(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Every NJ pizza joint Barstool's Dave Portnoy has reviewed

Dave Portnoy, commonly known as El Presidente, is the founder of Barstool Sports. Somewhere along the way, he decided to start reviewing local pizzerias, and the concept took off. Here is every New Jersey pizzeria Dave has stopped in, along with the score he gave them.

How the world saw New Jersey — 1940s to 1980s

This is how New Jersey saw the world from 1940-to 1980. All these photos are from AP and Getty publications, meaning they were used in a magazine or newspaper. There has been plenty of inventions and history made in New Jersey. Check the photos below.

2022 Seaside Heights Polar Bear Plunge photos

More than 6,000 people took the plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 26, 2022 to raise more than $2 million for the Special Olympics New Jersey.

New Jersey's new legislative districts for the 2020s

Boundaries for the 40 legislative districts for the Senate and Assembly elections of 2023 through 2029, and perhaps 2031, were approved in a bipartisan vote of the Apportionment Commission on Feb. 18, 2022. The map continues to favor Democrats, though Republicans say it gives them a chance to win the majority.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM