Underdog Saint Peter's ends unprecedented March Madness run with Elite Eight loss
The New Jersey school was the first 15th-seeded team to make the Elite Eight.
The underdog Saint Peter's University basketball squad ended its unprecedented March Madness run Sunday afternoon with a loss to the University of North Carolina.
The Peacocks were aiming to do what no 15th seed team has done before -- make it to the Final Four of the men's NCAA Tournament.
But after the matchup against the No. 8 seed Tar Heels in Philadelphia, the team heads home with a 69-49 loss.
Saint Peter's was already the first No. 15 seed ever to make the Elite Eight in the annual tournament's 83-year history.
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The Peacocks on Friday went into a Sweet 16 game against the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilermakers as a 13-point underdog and secured a 67-64 victory, the latest in a string of wins over top-seeded teams.
This was only Saint Peter's fourth appearance in the tournament, its first since 2011, when Purdue knocked them out in the first round.
![PHOTO: Jaylen Murray #32 and Latrell Reid #0 of the St. Peter's Peacocks celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 67-64 in the Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 25, 2022, in Philadelphia.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Sports/st-james-peacocks-march-madness-01-gty-jt-220326_1648307803153_hpMain.jpg)
But this year has been like no other for the team from Jersey City, New Jersey.
In the first round, they shocked No. 2 seed Kentucky with an 85-79 overtime victory despite the Wildcats being favored by 18.5 points. They were an eight-point underdog to No. 7 seed Murray State but pulled off a 70-60 second-round win.
![PHOTO: St. Peter's Peacocks players celebrate with head coach Shaheen Holloway after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 67-64 in the Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, on March 25, 2022, in Philadelphia.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Sports/st-james-peacocks-march-madness-gty-jt-220326_1648307572012_hpMain.jpg)
The University of North Carolina, which has won the NCAA men's basketball tournament six times, entered Sunday's game as an 8.5-point favorite over the Peacocks. The Tar Heels upset No. 4 UCLA to make it to the Elite Eight after knocking off top-seed Baylor in the second-round play.
The Tar Heels will next face archrival No. 2-seeded Duke next Saturday.
"I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we're scared of anything?" Saint Peter's coach Shaheen Holloway said during a post-game press conference following the Murray State win.