Off the cuff: Marquette's coach Shaka Smart came into the game 3-0 against the Tar Heels - of course those other three games came as coach of Texas.
He took his first L against Carolina and it didn't seem to sit well with him. He could be seen during the game jawing with UNC's Caleb Love. He also got a technical for arguing calls. After the game, he briskly and impersonally went through the handshake line.
Love didn't like the physical way he was being defended and he seemed to celebrate baskets more vociferously than usual.
For several minutes it seemed to be a powder keg as the teams got chippy. I'm not sure it made a difference in the outcome of the game but Carolina's attitude has certainly changed since the first of the season.
The Tar Heels became known as a team you could push around. Not anymore.
"My intent is to continue to fight," Coach Davis said. "Plain and simply, period, the end. If someone is going to try to push us around, we're going to push back. If they're going to elbow, we'll elbow them back. If they're going to kick us, we're going to kick them back. I've been clear and definitive to the guys about what we need to do out there on the floor. And there's been a number of times where teams have tried to push us around. And the only way that you can change that narrative of people thinking that they can do that, is that you swing back or you be the first one to swing."
He added, "I told the guys before the game, I said, there's three types of people. There's people that don't want to fight, there's people that do want to fight, and there's people that are looking for a fight. And I said, I want a bunch of guys, 17 guys in the locker room that are looking for a fight as we go up there and compete. And that's what they did. And I'm very, very, very proud of them."
As an aside, the NCAA reports that the Tar Heels set a record for margin of victory in the 8-9 matchup of the tournament.
Tar Heels 95 Marquette 63
Tar Heels fluster, blitz Marquette 95-63
North Carolina, behind hot three-point shooting from Caleb Love, took a lead in the first half on a 20-2 run and never looked back, flustering Marquette and going on to win 95-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. (3/17)
Love, who was not happy with Marquette's physical play, answered his frustration with 21 first-half points on six three pointers to lead the Heels to a commanding 53-25 halftime advantage.
The Golden Eagles, who weren't happy with the officiating and Love's complaints, answered their frustration with three first-half technical fouls - one on head coach Shaka Smart, who also seemed to get into a back-and-forth with Love, and another on Darryl Morsell, who got Love in a headlock and rolled him over on the floor.
The Tar Heels, who hit 10 threes in the first half, finished with 13 from beyond the arc. Manek, who had a season-high 28 points, hit five threes on the day.
Carolina also did some damage inside as the Heels finished with a 14-rebound edge on the boards. In the first half, when Carolina set the tone, the Tar Heels had a 32-16 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points.
Marquette found some offense in the second half but Carolina replied with some highlight reel dunks. R.J. Davis dished out a pair of assists early in the second half that brought the Carolina faithful to their feet. Davis finished with a season-high 12 assists.
After a Leaky Black steal, Davis distributed the ball to a streaking Brady Manek for a dunk. Less than three minutes later, Davis lobbed a long pass to Armando Bacot for another dunk.
The Tar Heels never abandoned the three however as Manek drained back-to-back ones to give Carolina its biggest lead to that point at 67-33. Carolina's largest lead of the game came with nine minutes left when Leaky Black found Puff Johnson for a fastbreak layup and an 83-48 lead.
While Manek led Carolina with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Love finished with a season-high 23, and Bacot tallied 17 points. Johnson also reached double figures with 11 points.
Marquette, led by Olivier Prosper's 16 points, ends the season 19-13.
Carolina, now 25-9 overall, take on No. 1 regional seed Baylor on Saturday.
Box Score UNC's Caleb Love scores one of his six three pointers as Marquette coach Shaka Smart pleads helplessly for some defense. (UNC Sports Information photo by Maggie Hobson.)
