PHILADELPHIA — No. 8 North Carolina stormed out to an early lead and cruised past No. 15 Saint Peter's 69-49, ending the most captivating run in men's NCAA Tournament history and setting up a blueblood-only Final Four.

Any thought that the Peacocks’ unforgettable March would continue was put to the test from the opening tip. UNC took a 9-0 edge after four minutes and expanded that lead to 21-7 with 7:30 left in the first half and to 32-13 four minutes later. The Tar Heels were up 38-19 at halftime and by as many as 27 points in the second half.

The Peacocks drew within 20 points, 55-36, after a 3-pointer from guard Daryl Banks III, but never mounted a serious second-half comeback.

After upsetting three higher seeds to reach the Elite Eight, the Peacocks struggled with the Tar Heels' length, backcourt athleticism and long-range shooting.

UNC shot 41% from the field and scored 34 points in the paint. Junior forward Armando Bacot had 15 rebounds at halftime and finished with a whopping 22 boards, while the Tar Heels out-rebounded Saint Peter's 49-35 overall.

The Tar Heels were led by Bacot, who scored 20 points. He is the fourth UNC player to lead the team in scoring in as many tournament games. Forward Brady Manek added 19 points and eight rebounds.

The Peacocks struggled converting near the basket, connecting on just 9-of-24 lay-up attempts, and shot just 30% on field goals, including 4-of-16 from deep.

The early UNC lead spelled trouble for Saint Peter's, which advanced to the Elite Eight by clamping down defensively and using a rare amount of depth to wear down opponents over 40 minutes. The Peacocks entered Sunday ranked 283rd nationally in made 3-pointers (195).

Fousseyi Drame scored 12 points to lead Saint Peter's. KC Ndefo added 10 points.

After an unexpected postseason surge, UNC turns to what may be the most hyped Final Four pairing in the 64-team era.

It’ll be the Tar Heels and No. 2 Duke, which toppled No. 4 Arkansas in the Elite Eight to make one last Final Four trip under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In addition to the game potentially being Krzyzewski’s last after more than four decades with the Blue Devils, the two longstanding rivals have never met in tournament play.

The closest possible pairing came in 1991, when both reached the Final Four but UNC failed to advance past Kansas in the semifinals. Duke topped UNLV in the semifinals and beat the Jayhawks for the national championship.

The win against the Peacocks ends the most memorable performance by an underdog in NCAA Tournament history. With a succession of wins against higher-ranked and favored opponents — No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 Purdue — Saint Peter’s became the third No. 15 seed to reach the second weekend and the first to advance to the Elite Eight.

While one of the most powerful programs in the history of the sport, UNC is a different sort of underdog.

Once 12-6 and scuffling through the start of ACC play under first-year coach Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels have now won 18 of 21 to reach the Final Four for the first time since winning the national championship in 2017.

Davis is the first rookie head coach to reach the Final Four since former UNC coach Bill Guthridge did so in 1998.

While in perfect company among three other basketball bluebloods, UNC would be just the first No. 8 seed to reach the national championship game since Kentucky in 2014 and just the fourth overall. Only one such seed, Villanova in 1985, would win it all.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Saint Peter's magical NCAA Tournament run ends as UNC dominates