North Carolina blasts Marquette in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

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North Carolina beat Marquette 95-63 on Thursday afternoon in a game that was never in doubt for the Tar Heels.

UNC jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 20-2 run in the first half. The Tar Heels never looked back and ultimately set an NCAA Tournament record in this win.

This is the largest margin of victory for a team in an 8-9-seed game in tournament history.

North Carolina's 32-point win against Marquette was the largest win in any 8-9 matchup in tournament history. #MarchMadness

— Evan Boyd (@EvanBoydSTATS) March 17, 2022

Brady Manek was sensational, scoring a game-high 28 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. He’s just the third player in ACC history to score 25+ points, 10+ rebounds and hit 5+ 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game.

Brady Manek is the 3rd player in ACC history to have 25+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game. pic.twitter.com/9OJoLjTdCf

— Saturday Road (@SaturdayRoad) March 17, 2022

North Carolina has now won seven of its last eight games. It’s set to face No. 1-seeded Baylor in the Round of 32 on Saturday. The Bears are without starting point guard LJ Cryer, but still pose a significant threat.

Saturday’s game between UNC and Baylor will be the first in series history.

Tipoff time and broadcast details are to be determined.