All signs pointed to an offensive shootout in the East regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament Friday night in Newark, N.J.
Unfortunately, it appeared only North Carolina got the memo, beating Marquette 81-63.
Marquette (22-15), which led the Big East in scoring after the regular season at 79.5 points per game, picked the wrong time to put together its worst offensive half of the year, scoring just 15 points and committing 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Tar Heels (29-8) set the tone almost immediately, as sophomore forward John Henson seemingly came out of nowhere to block a 15-foot shot by senior forward Jimmy Butler on the game’s first possession.
Two trips later, North Carolina sophomore guard Dexter Strickland picked up one of his career-high four steals thanks to the first of three turnovers by senior guard Dwight Buycks.
“For some reason, we just came out flat,” said freshman guard Vander Blue. “We didn’t come out doing what we practiced and what we live by. North Carolina came out and played their game and imposed their will on us instead of us imposing it on them, and that really changed the game.”
Solid defense kept the score close early for Marquette, as North Carolina made just 6-of-21 shots to start the game. But it was a matter of when, not if, the Tar Heels would get going offensively, and they did so by reeling off 19 unanswered points to take a 27-10 lead.
The Tar Heels had allowed 87 and 83 points in their first two wins, but they came out with a different intensity that flustered Marquette from the get-go. The Golden Eagles’ 12 first half turnovers turned into 17 points for North Carolina, something coach Roy Williams said set the tone of the game.
“The defense was so much more active in the first half than we were in any of the most recent games,” Williams said. “And you know, we turned them over and turned it into points for us on the other end.”
The Golden Eagles missed 24 shots in the first half. Marquette grabbed 11 offensive rebounds off the 24 misses, but scored just four second-chance points.
Marquette knew it would need to get to the free throw line to have any chance of keeping up with the fast-paced Tar Heels, but attempted just six free throws in the opening half.
“We didn’t get to the free throw line nearly as much as we usually do,” Blue said. “We relied too much on the three and it seemed like we were going one-on-one too much. We weren’t playing as a team and we just got down too much.”
Junior forward Jae Crowder gave North Carolina all the credit after the game.
“They did everything right, it felt like,” Crowder said. “The way they forced the tempo was key. They forced us to play outside our tempo, which forced us to take bad shots and miss shots.”
Marquette finished the first half without an assist on its six made field goals, due in part to the active hands of Strickland and freshman guard Kendall Marshall, who had two steals of his own.
There were signs of life in the second half, as Marquette scored 48 points and outscored North Carolina by seven after halftime, but the 25-point halftime deficit proved too large for coach Buzz Williams’ squad.
“I don’t know why we took so long to turn it on,” said sophomore guard Junior Cadougan.
