PHILADELPHIA — It quickly became apparent this wasn’t Kentucky or Murray State or Purdue.

The shots weren’t falling, layups frustratingly rolling off the rim. The defensive coverage wasn’t there, the opponent getting open looks on the perimeter and just outside of the paint.

But it was more than that. It was that shell-shocked look on the Saint Peter’s players’ faces as the deficit grew, as the North Carolina fans roared, as this once-realistic dream began to fade deeper and deeper into fantasy.

The clock had struck midnight on Shaheen Holloway’s Peacocks. A bigger, stronger and more talented team was playing like it at both ends of the floor. Its stars didn’t come up short like Saint Peter’s first three victims.

The inevitable arrived early Sunday evening at Well Fargo Center, as the eighth-seeded Tar Heels emphatically ended the Jersey City school’s magic carpet ride through March, pummeling the first 15th seed to reach the Elite Eight, 69-49. The one-sided win sets up the first-ever encounter between forever-rivals North Carolina and Duke in the NCAA Tournament, and on the biggest stage, too, next Saturday night’s Final Four in New Orleans.