North Carolina Tar Heels square off against Marquette Golden Eagles in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 17, 2022 2:22 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Marquette Golden Eagles (19-12, 11-8 Big East) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (24-9, 15-5 ACC)

Fort Worth, Texas; Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: North Carolina -3.5; over/under is 152

BOTTOM LINE: The North Carolina Tar Heels square off against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels' record in ACC games is 15-5. North Carolina is 7-2 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.3 turnovers per game.

The Golden Eagles are 11-8 in Big East play. Marquette averages 74.4 points and has outscored opponents by 3.5 points per game.

TOP PERFORMERS: Armando Bacot is shooting 59.8% and averaging 16.5 points for the Tar Heels. Caleb Love is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for North Carolina.

Justin Lewis is scoring 17.1 points per game and averaging 7.9 rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Darryl Morsell is averaging 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds over the last 10 games for Marquette.

LAST 10 GAMES: Tar Heels: 8-2, averaging 73.6 points, 37.0 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 41.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.7 points per game.

Golden Eagles: 4-6, averaging 74.8 points, 29.4 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.2 points.

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