North Carolina have set up a tantalising Final Four matchup with historic rivals Duke after ending the 'Cinderella' run of the 15-seed Saint Peter's Peacocks.

The Peacocks assumed the role of this year's loveable underdogs of March Madness when they became the first 15 seed to make it through to the Elite Eight, but they were no match for North Carolina, going down 69-49 in a game that was never close.

Armando Bacot was the star of the show for the Tar Heels, finishing with 20 points on eight-of-15 shooting to go with a monstrous 22 rebounds.

With the win, North Carolina booked their spot against Duke in the Final Four as Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski searches for his sixth national title in his 42nd and final year in charge.

One of the fiercest rivalries in American sports, North Carolina and Duke have played 256 times since their first meeting in 1920, but incredibly have never met in the NCAA Tournament.

Earlier in the day, it was a tale of two halves as one-seed Kansas took on 10-seed Miami, with the higher-ranked Jayhawks struggling out of the gate to trail 35-29 at half-time.

Kansas shot zero-for-five from long range and three-for-nine from the free throw line in the first half but flipped a switch in the second half, showing why they are considered one of the favourites to win the tournament.

The second half was total domination, out-scoring the Hurricanes 47-15 in the 20 minutes to pull away for an easy 76-50 win.

The top performance in the game came from the top NBA prospect, Kansas' Ochai Agbaji, who finished with 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting, including two-from-two from long range. He also registered five rebounds, four assists and four steals as he continues to build his case as a potential lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft.

The Saint Peter's dream run continued on Friday, after they defeated third-seeded Purdue 67-64 on Friday.

The Peacocks thrived off a home-court advantage at the Wells Fargo Center to become the first 15th seed to reach the Elite Eight, despite the late efforts of NBA lottery prospect Jaden Ivey.

Despite hitting on none of his opening five attempts from the perimeter, Ivey connected on an NBA-range triple with eight seconds left to bring Purdue within a point. Doug Edert calmly made his free-throws to ice the game, and put Saint Peter's on the brink of the Final Four.

They will face North Carolina who defeated UCLA 73-66, led by 30 points from Caleb Love.

Despite shooting 10-of-31 from the three-point line for the night, the six-time national champions overcame a three-point deficit to put up 45 points in the second half.

Elsewhere, Remy Martin scored a season-high 23 points as Kansas hung on for a 66-61 win over Providence, securing their passage to the Elite Eight.

The Jayhawks are the only first seed left in the tournament, after both Gonzaga and Arizona were defeated in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, and Baylor's title defence was ended in the second round.

Kansas will face the Miami Hurricanes, who progressed with their comfortable 70-56 win over Iowa State.