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

PHILADELPHIA — North Carolina and Duke have played each other 257 times since 1920. They've played in thunderclap matchups of No. 1 vs. No. 2, battled frequently in the ACC tournament and even once in the 1971 NIT semifinals.

The 258th matchup will be the first one to ever take place in the NCAA Tournament, a cosmic collision seemingly swiped from Tobacco Road fan fiction. North Carolina and Duke are located eight miles apart and have combined for 248 NCAA tournament wins, but their meeting in the Final Four in New Orleans will come with the highest stakes in the rivalry's storied history.

No. 8 North Carolina's 69-49 evisceration of No. 15 St. Peter's sends North Carolina to the Final Four for the 21st time in program history, extending its all-time appearance lead over UCLA (18). With a week of build-up before the age-old rivals take the court, expect the game to be billed as the most anticipated meeting in the history of the rivalry.

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis clinched a Final Four bid in his first season on the sidelines at UNC. And his climb onto the national stage as a head coach creates another bit of basketball providence. Davis' first Final Four as a head coach fatefully intersects with the heralded exit of Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who is retiring this season after leading Duke to the Final Four for the 13th time in his career.

The confluence of the teams, stakes and Krzyzewski's career potentially ending at the hands of North Carolina creates the opportunity for generations of bragging rights for the winner.

There's two distinct possibilities. Either UNC ends Krzyzewski's career on the biggest possible stage at the hands of his most bitter rival, or Duke gets the chance on Monday to play the winner of