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NCAA Tournament: Tar Heels draw Marquette in East Region’s 8/9 game

By Blake Cockrum

Mar 5, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels won 94-81. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2022; Durham, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels won 94-81. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The eighth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels are matched up with the ninth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s East Region.

Selection Sunday is finally here and the 68 teams invited to the 2022 NCAA Tournament have been announced.

The North Carolina Tar Heels were on the bubble for the majority of the season but worked themselves into a safe position in the final few weeks of their conference schedule; as safe as an 8/9 game followed by a potential matchup with the region’s top team can be, that is.

The No. 8 seed Tar Heels, if they can get past the No. 9 seed Marquette Golden Eagles in the Round of 64, would have a likely date with the East Region’s No. 1 team, the defending national champion Baylor Bears.

So, while that might not be the way the Tar Heels and their rabid fan base saw the season playing out back in early November, it could certainly be worse. North Carolina avoided brackets that have powerhouses Gonzaga and Arizona, as well as a Kansas squad that seems to beat them every time the two teams face off in the big dance.

The Golden Eagles, led by former Texas Longhorns lead man Shaka Smart, are definitely not a perfect team, but they’re no slouch either. They beat both Villanova and Seton Hall twice this season but lost to the same Creighton Bluejays team on three occasions. They also lost to a bad DePaul team just a couple of weeks ago.

Marquette definitely presents a challenge for a North Carolina team that was outstanding in a convincing victory at Duke last week and then looked completely lost in an ACC Tournament semifinal game against Virginia Tech a week later.

If the Marquette team that beat Villanova twice this season shows up to Thursday’s 8/9 game, then the UNC squad that bested Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium better be there and ready to play.

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