PHILADELPHIA — The rebellion of St. Peter’s — the unexpected March uprising by a hardcourt underdog that felled some of college basketball’s most fabled powers — ended in Philadelphia on Sunday.
No team this year had stunned the N.C.A.A. men’s tournament more. No team ever, in fact, had come so far from such a dismissive start. But North Carolina, dented by an uneven regular season that gave way to the kind of play that has long placed it among the sport’s elite, made short work of St. Peter’s and vanquished its aspirations, 69-49.
North Carolina, which had scored at least 93 points in two of its games in this tournament, did not fully erupt against a defense that had powered the Peacocks to a 10-game winning streak, the longest active run in the nation entering Sunday’s matchup.