NCAA Tournament Preview: North Carolina vs. Marquette Predictions

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 25 March 2011 17:12

Final score predictions are ready in our North Carolina vs. Marquette preview.

The North Carolina Tar Heels (28-7) and the Marquette Golden Eagles (22-14) will meet up at 7:15 PM ET tonight on CBS, and our college basketball preview will take a look at both teams before making predictions on the potential final score.  Marquette has gotten this far in the 2011 NCAA Tournament by dispatching of Xavier (66-55) and Syracuse (66-62), while North Carolina has advanced with wins over LIU Brooklyn (102-87) and Washington (86-83).

This NCAA Tournament game will be played at the Prudential Center in Neward, New Jersey, and North Carolina has been the superior team away from home as their 13-7 record dwarfs the 8-11 mark of Marquette.  North Carolina guard Reggie Bullock (6.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG) appears to be the only injury concern for tonight’s game and he continues to miss action after sustaining a season-ending torn lateral meniscus in the ACC Tournament.

North Carolina keeps a fast pace going and their defense has been giving up big points in recent games.  That being said, their offense is outscoring the teams they go up against and it will be important for Marquette to shoot better than they have been over their last 5 games (just 43.3% from the field).  The Tar Heels don’t have elite 3-point shooters but guys like Tyler Zeller (15.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and Harrison Barnes (15.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG) are big bodies on the inside that cause matchup problems for opposing defenses.  Marquette has been playing strong defense lately but is just 1-3 in their last 4 games where they allow opponents to score 67 or more.

The Golden Eagles can score some points as well (75.5 per game on the year) and they are really doing well from long range in recent games (39.1% over their last 5).  The North Carolina defense has been horrible at guarding the perimeter recently and Marquette could pull the upset if they hot from in back of the arc.  Marquette takes care of the ball better and I’d look for guard Darius Johnson-Odom (16.0 PPG, 2.4 APG) to have a big game as he takes advantage of the holes in the North Carolina defense.  The Golden Eagles will look to slow down the pace and North Carolina is 2-1 recently in games in which they score less than 72 points.

This is a tough NCAA Tournament game to make final score predictions on because a lot of the decision comes down to whether North Carolina or Marquette will be the one dictating the pace.  I’d look for each team to have its moments and for this game to come down to the wire in a tight one.  Although I think Marquette wins the turnover and 3-point battle, ultimately I believe that North Carolina’s rebounding edge and ability to score in the paint will emerge on top.

Marquette 76

North Carolina 78