Caleb Love, UNC Rout Marquette, Advance to Face Baylor in 2nd Round of March Madness

North Carolina sent Marquette packing with a lopsided 95-63 win in the first round of the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Thursday.

The eighth-seeded Tar Heels avoided suffering an opening-round exit for the second straight season. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, have failed to reach the second round in any of their last three trips to the Big Dance.

UNC took control early and didn't look back. Marquette forward Kur Kuath put the Golden Eagles ahead 8-7 at the 16:41 mark before Carolina embarked on a 20-2 run over the next eight minutes.

The Golden Eagles couldn't get within striking distance from there.

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Notable Performers

Caleb Love, G, North Carolina: 23 points, three rebounds, one assist

Brady Manek, F, North Carolina: 28 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks

Armando Bacot, F, North Carolina: 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, F, Marquette: 16 points, three rebounds, one steal

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A Lot to 'Love' for Carolina

North Carolina might be hitting its stride at the right time. The Tar Heels closed out the regular season on a five-game winning streak, a run punctuated by an upset over Duke to spoil Mike Krzyzewski's last home game.

Carolina lost by double digits to Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament semifinal, but Hubert Davis' squad didn't suffer from any sort of hangover from that defeat.

Caleb Love's 21 points paced UNC as it built a 28-point lead at halftime.

Armando Bacot was one rebound short of a double-double in the opening 20 minutes as well.

North Carolina didn't take its foot off the gas in the second half and seemed to relish the opportunity to put on a show.

The Tar Heels' two meetings with their most hated rival captured the dichotomy of this year's squad. That comfortable victory over the Blue Devils was preceded by a 20-point drubbing in Chapel Hill.

When North Carolina is off, the results can be ugly. When North Carolina is on, you saw what can happen Thursday.

While still unlikely given their seed, a deep run for the Tar Heels is at least looking plausible.

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Marquette Has Achilles Heel Exposed

Per Sports Reference, Marquette was 324th in total rebounding percentage (47.1) and 332nd in offensive rebounding rate (22.4 percent).

What's been a glaring problem for the Golden Eagles all season played a big role in their dreadful start. North Carolina was creating a lot of second chances and denying them for their opponents because of how much they dominated the glass.

Justin Lewis also picked an inopportune time to have his worst game of the season. 

The 6'7" forward was the Golden Eagles' leading scorer (17.1 points) and had just two games all year in which he failed to hit double figures.

Lewis shot 2-of-15 from the floor en route to a six-point effort. A lot of that was down to the defensive performance of Tar Heels guard Leaky Black.

Shaka Smart became nationally relevant when he led VCU to the Final Four in 2011. But between now and his spells at VCU and Texas, this is the sixth straight time one of his teams lost in the round of 64.

Whatever goodwill Smart built early on with Golden Eagles fans by reaching the Big Dance might be eroding already.

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What's Next?

North Carolina's reward for Thursday's win is a date with Baylor, the top seed in the East region. The reigning national champion easily dispatched Norfolk State in the first round.