The Tar Heels are headed to Texas for the NCAA Tournament. Carolina received the No. 8 seed in the tournament’s East Region, where they will face No. 9 seed Marquette in a first-round game in Fort Worth, TX, on Thursday. The teams will tip off at 4:30 p.m. on TBS.

This will be Carolina’s second matchup with Marquette in as many years. The Golden Eagles, led by Dawson Garcia, soundly defeated UNC, 83-70, in Chapel Hill last season. Garcia scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win.

This year, Marquette enters with a 19-12 record, led by head coach Shaka Smart in his first year with the program. Smart signed with the Golden Eagles after a six-year stint at Texas, where he notably went 3-0 against Carolina. The Tar Heels have never defeated a Shaka Smart-coached team.

Carolina enters the field with a 24-9 overall record. The program is looking avoid losing its first game in the tournament for the second straight season, something it hasn’t done since doing it in three straight seasons between 1978 and 1980.

Should the Tar Heels beat Marquette, they would likely face No. 1 seed and defending national champions Baylor in the second round. The Bears play No. 16 seed Norfolk State in the first round. No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 3 seed Purdue and No. 4 seed UCLA round out the top of the East Region. Whichever teams advance to the tournament’s second weekend will travel to Philadelphia for the regional semifinals and regional final.

Carolina is one of five ACC schools to receive a bid to the tournament, along with Duke (a No. 2 seed), Miami (No. 10), Virginia Tech (No. 11) and Notre Dame (No. 11). The Hokies are also in the East Region with Carolina.

For a full look at the NCAA Tournament bracket, click here.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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