UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Blast Marquette in the NCAA Round of 64

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team came out on fire from the start hitting eight first half 3 pointers, six by Caleb Love which broke the game wide open. The Tar Heels got the shots that they wanted and the offensive rebounds when they missed those shots to take a 28 point half-time lead.

Much was made of this #8 vs. #9 matchup that it should a close grind-out game, but the Tar Heels had other plans. They put the beat down on the Golden Eagles from start to finish. UNC kept their foot on the neck of Marquette and made sure not to give them any hope by raining 3 pointers and being on the receiving end of alley-oops and easy dunks.

Brady Manek had a career day as a Tar Heel with 28 points and 11 rebounds including hitting five 3 pointers. R.J. Davis had a career-high 12 assists and North Carolina as a team moved the ball well with 29 assists on 34 made baskets. Leaky Black shut down Marquette’s leading scorer Justin Lewis who went 2-15 for 6 points.

UNC Game Stats

1st     2nd     TOT

North Carolina 53      42      95

Marquette      25      38      63

North Carolina

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
A. Bacot F	—	6-13	0-0	5-5	4	6	10	3	1	0	1	0	17
B. Manek F	—	10-15	5-10	3-3	3	8	11	2	0	2	2	2	28
R.J. Davis G	—	1-10	1-5	1-2	1	3	4	12	0	0	1	0	4
C. Love G	—	6-15	6-13	5-7	0	3	3	1	0	0	2	1	23
L. Black G	—	2-4	0-1	0-0	2	5	7	8	2	0	2	1	4
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. McKoy F	—	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. McAdoo F	—	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
C. Lebo G	—	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
P. Johnson G	—	5-7	1-2	0-0	0	3	3	0	0	1	0	3	11
D. Dunn G	—	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
D. Styles G	—	3-3	0-0	0-0	1	5	6	1	0	0	2	2	6
K. Walton G	—	1-2	0-1	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2
TEAM		34-74	13-35	14-17	15	37	52	28	4	3	10	11	95
		45.9%	37.1%	82.4%

Marquette

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
O. Prosper F	—	6-10	4-8	0-0	0	3	3	0	1	0	1	1	16
J. Lewis F	—	2-15	2-7	0-0	3	5	8	1	1	1	1	1	6
K. Kuath F	—	3-5	0-0	0-0	2	3	5	0	0	5	0	2	6
T. Kolek G	—	1-5	1-4	0-0	0	1	1	10	0	0	0	0	3
D. Morsell G	—	5-12	0-3	1-4	1	6	7	1	0	0	2	4	11
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
D. Joplin F	—	2-4	0-1	0-1	1	3	4	1	0	0	0	2	4
O. Ighodaro F	—	3-8	0-0	2-2	3	0	3	1	2	1	3	3	8
M. Kennedy F	—	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
E. Ellis G	—	0-2	0-1	0-1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
K. Jones G	—	1-4	1-4	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3
S. Mitchell G	—	3-3	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	6
B. Carney G	—	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
G. Elliott G	—	0-3	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM		26-73	8-31	3-8	13	24	37	15	5	7	10	16	63
		35.6%	25.8%	37.5%

UNC Bright Spots

Brady Manek had 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Caleb Love had 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Armando Bacot had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Puff Johnson had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels guards need to stay aggressive on offense to keep the pressure on their opponents.

Final Observations

North Carolina gave the first punch and didn’t look back, That is all Coach Davis could ask for to start off the NCAA tournament. They played with energy and intensity and hit their shots. This is what will be needed to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

The Tar Heels looked like they were having fun and just balling out. It’s great to see this team continue to play at a high level. No none wants to see a team that is peaking and has an inside-out game to put pressure on opponents. They need to stay focused and don’t anyone lightly. This win or go home time. Next up Baylor on Saturday TBA.