St. Peter's Peacocks From Jersey City Lose A Game But Inspire Sports Fans Across America

[UPDATE: Jersey City's mayor announced that the Peacocks will get a parade and key to the city. Find out more here.]

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The #15-seeded St. Peter's University men's basketball team fell to North Carolina 69-49 on Sunday night, but inspired fans across America with their underdog NCAA championship run.

"There's a strong case Saint Peter's is already the greatest Cinderella [story] ever," opined a writer on the NCAA website Saturday.

Their winning streak came to an end in Philadelphia against the #8-seeded Tar Heels.

Throughout the season, fans cheered for the proud Peacocks as they beat Kentucky, Murray State University, then Purdue to strut into the Elite 8, the first time a #15-seeded team had done so.

The star players at their Jersey City-based Catholic school on Kennedy Blvd. became folk heroes as well.

Sports publications have noted that St. Peter's has a $1.6 million basketball budget, one of the lowest in Division I programs — and a lower amount than some of the opposing teams' coaches' salaries.

Learn more about the team and the school here.

See prior reporting: Jersey City Gets Called A 'Suburb,' NJ Twitter Reacts

The Final Four NCAA games will be played next weekend in New Orleans.

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