Saint Peter’s vs North Carolina: 2022 Elite 8 game preview, TV schedule

The Saint Peter’s Peacocks coming in on the team’s Cinderella run are taking on the  North Carolina Tar Heels in a game of two unlikely stories getting to this point with a Final Four berth on the line.

TV schedule: Sunday, March 27 – 5:05 p.m. ET, CBS

Arena: Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA

The Elite Eight matchup that we all predicted when filling out our brackets. The lowest seed ever to make it this far in the Saint Peter’s Peacocks out of the MAAC has gone a historic run and has played – and defeated- some of the best schools in the country this year.

It’s not like the Peacocks are some rich team either, as their home stadium is anything close to luxurious and head coach Shaheen Holloway is not getting paid anything close to the top coaches in the country. The team had to win its conference tournament just to get here but is not looking back now.

The Saint Peter’s Peacocks have taken the likes of Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue down all in this run to get here. All three were ranked in the AP Top 25 at some point and Purdue had been No.1 in the country. The Peacocks have been winning these games because of their defense. Only allowing Purdue – the second-best offensive efficient team- to only 64 points, Murray State – who averages around 80 points per game- to 60, and Kentucky only allowing 71 points in regulation and 40.1% from the field over the three games.

This cast of players throughout the roster has played a big part in how the Peacocks have gotten here. Talking about the Peacocks defense, KC Ndefo has to be brought up. Three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year has been a force on the inside in the tournament. Then offensively, Daryl Banks III has been a scoring machine averaging 15.7 points per game in the tournament. Doug Edert has led the way in confidence and swag for the Peacocks. His infamous mustache is now arguably the face of college basketball.

On the other bench, the North Carolina Tar Heels have pulled off their own Cinderella story. However, unlike the Peacocks, the Tar Heels have the history and pedigree of a top school but just had a “down” regular season in the ACC and out-of-conference. After losing to Tennessee, Michigan and Purdue early, then blowout losses to Miami and Wake Forest, the team had to find itself. After getting into the tournament, the Tar Heels have looked better than ever with wins over No. 9 Marquette, No. 1 Baylor and No. 4 UCLA.

After the retirement of head coach Roy Williams, now head coach Hubert Davis had faced major criticism early but is now putting the pieces together with his team. Co-ACC Player of the Year Armando Bacot has been a force on the boards for the Tar Heels, averaging 12.6 per game.

Although North Carolina usually runs a rebounder at the power forward spot, Brady Maneck has been a knockdown shooter out there, shooting 39.1% from three. Then you have to mention the clutch play of guard Caleb Love for this team, especially with big-time plays down the stretch against UCLA and Baylor.

This game is so hard to predict. Many people did not expect North Carolina to get this far, and nobody expected the Peacocks. Seriously, people who went and covered this team in the MAAC tournament can’t believe how this team is pulling it off. However, with how unpredictably good North Carolina has been too, and also playing with so much confidence and swagger, it’s hard to imagine the Peacocks making the Final Four. Although it will be a close game, the Peacocks’ crazy run-up top this point I do think it will fall in a grind it out affair.