NCAA Tournament 2011: Can North Carolina Continue Its Run Against Marquette?
By on March 25, 2011
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No. 2 seed North Carolina vs. No. 11 seed Marquette
Region: East
Time: 7:15 PM
Channel: CBS
Location: Newark, New Jersey
Game Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg
The NCAA Tournament will be down to the Elite Eight following tonight's games, and No. 2 seed North Carolina will look to avoid the upset bug against No. 11 seed Marquette.
The tournament is down to two teams from the ACC and Big East conference, although not many people would have figured on these two teams being the last two survivors.
The Tar Heels rely on their offense, as they can flat out score. North Carolina has averaged 94 PPG in their first two games of the 2011 NCAA Tournaments, while the Golden Eagles of Marquette have scored 66 points in each of their first two games, with both resulting in upsets.
UNC has gotten great play in the tournament from Harrison Barnes, but Tyler Zeller and John Henson have been excellent inside for Roy Williams' bunch. The 'Heels will be the bigger team here, and they will also have the benefit of having a great point guard in Kendall Marshall. After that, however, they are not deep at all.
Dana O'Neil of ESPN says that North Carolina will need to keep up one thing if they are to get past Marquette.
"Tempo," says O'Neil. "North Carolina likes to go and while Marquette isn’t against an uptempo game, the Golden Eagles aren’t interested in a track meet with the Tar Heels. The interesting thing, as numbers guy Buzz Williams pointed out, is Carolina only averages two possessions per game more than Marquette."
That fact does come as a bit of a surprise. Still, it isn't how many possessions a team has, but rather what they can do with them over the course of the game.
Mike Freeman of CBS Sports says that the Golden Eagles are built upon many solid junior college transfers, and that the term 'juco' should not carry such a negative perception.
Freeman says that "As Marquette has upset and advanced and grabbed headlines, the microscopic examination of how the team has advanced deep into the tournament has begun. The focus has been on the juco players. That focus has grown somewhat intense, causing coach Buzz Williams, whose first name matches his haircut, to caution the media this week."
But the two teams, although it has happened in very different ways, have both become much closer as the season has progressed.
The Tar Heels got astronomically better and closer once Marshall took over as the team's starting point guard. He replaced a whiny quitter (whose name I have sworn never to mention again, sorry) and gave his teammates a reason to trust him.
But Freeman points out that Marquette is close, but for a different reason.
"What has happened with Marquette is simple and predictable," according to Freeman. "The Golden Eagles became close using their junior college experiences as a sort of glue. It's possible no other team left in the Sweet 16 is as tight as this one."
What it will all boil down to is who lets who play their style and tempo of basketball. If this turns into a shootout, it has to favor the 'Heels. If defense and half court offense prevails, then things will be looking good for the Eagles.
Ultimately, I see Marquette continuing its Cinderella run. They are playing solid ball as of late, and I believe that they will be able to take advantage of Carolina's youth down the stretch.
For another preview of tonight's matchup, make sure to check out Bleacher Report Correspondent Jim Berdysz, who takes a look at the NCAA Tournament 2011: Previewing North Carolina vs. Marquette Sweet 16 Matchup.
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