March Madness: Tar Heels absolutely smash Marquette in Round of 64

March Madness is in full swing and the North Carolina Tar Heels put on one of the most impressive performances of the NCAA Tournament’s first day.

The North Carolina Tar Heels played arguably their best game of the season on Thursday evening when they put an absolute beatdown on the Marquette Golden Eagles in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64, winning the game by a final score of 95-63.

Caleb Love led the way for North Carolina in the first half, connecting on six three-pointers and scoring 21 points in the most dominant half of basketball we’ve ever seen from him. Love finished the game with 23 points on 6-of-15 shooting overall and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Brady Manek took over in the second half en route to his best game of the season. He scored a game-high and season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-10 from long-range. He added 11 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in a game that makes North Carolina fans wish he could come back for an additional season next year.

Armando Bacot quietly turned in another double-double, his program-leading 26th of the season, with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He added three assists and one steal, and hit all five of his free throw attempts on the night. He also became the Tar Heels’ all-time single-season leader in rebounds. R.J. Davis struggled from the floor with a 1-for-10 shooting game but dished out a career-high 12 assists.

Leaky Black put together another defensive masterclass against the Golden Eagles’ best offensive weapon, Justin Lewis, who scored just six points on 2-for-15 shooting. Lewis came into the game averaging better than 17 points per game. Black added eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals in yet another game that shows his immeasurable value to this UNC squad.

North Carolina shot 45.9 percent (34-for-74) for the game, 37.1 percent (13-for-35) from three-point range, and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) at the free throw line. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Golden Eagles by 15 (52-37) and amassed an incredible 28 assists on 34 made buckets.

Marquette was led by Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 4-of-8 from three. Darryl Morsell was the only other Golden Eagle to score in double-digits; he had 11 points to go along with seven rebounds.

Marquette shot 35.6 percent (26-for-73) overall, 25.8 percent (8-for-31) from downtown, and 37.5 percent (3-for-7) at the charity stripe. Shaka Smart’s ball club finishes the 2021-22 campaign with a record of 19-13 following their first-round exit.

The Tar Heels, now 25-9 on the season, will take on the top-seeded Baylor Bears on Saturday.

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