North Carolina cruises to men's basketball Final Four, concludes storybook season for Saint Peter's

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Since 1920, North Carolina and Duke have played each other 257 times. They battled frequently in the conference tournament and once in the NIT semifinals.

The 258th game in the NCAA Tournament will be the first one to ever take place in the tournament. The rivalry between North Carolina and Duke has been going on for a long time, but their meeting in the Final Four in New Orleans will be the most important in the history of the rivalry.

North Carolina will go to the Final Four for the 21st time in program history, extending its all-time appearance lead over UCLA. The game will be billed as the most anticipated meeting in the history of the rivalry because of a week of build-up.

In his first season at UNC, coach Hubert Davis secured a Final Four bid. As a head coach, his climb onto the national stage creates more basketball providence. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is retiring this season after leading the Blue Devil to the Final Four for the 13th time in his career.

The chance for generations of bragging rights for the winner is created by the confluence of the teams and stakes.

There are two different possibilities. Either UNC ends Krzyzewski's career on the biggest stage at the hands of his most bitter rival, or Duke gets the chance on Monday to play the winner of Kansas and Villanova to send Krzyzewski out with his sixth national title.

The Duke-UNC rivalry was considered to be the ultimate rivalry ambush after UNC stunned Duke in Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The gift of bracket kismet gives UNC the chance to have their picture taken on bar stools and tee boxes for decades.

Two programs that have played 334 NCAA tournament games have never faced each other. The NCAA match-up was not possible until 1975, when the NCAA began allowing more than one team per league into the event. They were in the Final Four together in 1991, when Krzyzewski won his first championship.

The job Davis has done deserves a lot of attention. In the first three months of the season, UNC lost to Kentucky, Wake Forest, Duke, and even a home loss to Pittsburgh.

After the Tar Heels lost to Pitt in February, Davis guided them from the wrong side of the bubble to the Final Four. By winning four games in his first NCAA tournament, Davis becomes the first head coach in his first season on the sideline to reach the Final Four since the late Bill Guthridge guided the Tar Heels there in 1998.

Sharing experiences and the time that we have spent on and off the court has allowed us to grow together, to understand each other, to accept each other, and to see the gifts and talents that allow us to collectively. We are in a place of togetherness because of the time we spend together.

The tiny school in Jersey City ended its run with a wince-enduing thud after midnight struck for St. Peter's. Carolina jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never really felt threatened -- superior size, a distinct advantage in athleticism and enough mettle to never give St. Peter's a blink of hope.

St. Peter's historic run in the NCAA tournament was more about collective resilience than offensive precision. The crowd at the Wells Fargo Center was silenced in the first half because of their poor performance.

The Peacocks were 0-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half, and their futility was summed up by their coach who took a time out just 2:30 into the game. He designed a deft play out of the break, which resulted in a wide-open throw to the leading scorer. Banks flubbed the lay-up, setting the tone for a 7-for-31 shooting half.

St. Peter's was down 38-19 at the half and the snarling Holloway contorted his facial expressions to show his repulsion. The Peacocks were the only 15 seed to make it to the Elite Eight.

The cold reality for St. Peter's will likely continue into the week, as it is expected that Holloway will be the new head coach at Seton Hall. One of the most important players in the history of the program, and also the one who helped build the current iteration of the program, was a graduate of Seton Hall and served eight seasons as Kevin Willard's assistant there.

Television trucks were racing for Tobacco Road B-roll by halftime, and he didn't want to go out that way. Armondo Bacot had 22 points and 15 first-halfrebounds, and he did chin-ups on the rim as he parted St. Peter's post players like bowling pins. He scored 20 for the team. The type of player Brady Manek was, the 6-foot-9 senior who can score inside and out (4-6 from 3) presented just the type of player St. Peter's had no answer for.

The third meeting of Carolina and Duke will be set by his performance. In the first game in Chapel Hill, the Blue Dukes won by 20 and in the second game, the Carolinas won by 13 points.

The third and final meeting has a delicious plot twist in a rivalry that has been going on for more than a century.