North Carolina, Baylor Are Opposing One Another In The Second Round Of The NCAA Tournament Today In Fort Worth Texas

North Carolina, Baylor are opposing one another in the second round of the NCAA Tournament today in Fortworth Texas.

Why?

Because North Carolina beat Marquette who was a 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday 95 -63 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament!

In North Carolina’s 95-63 win over Marquette —Brady Manek scored 28 points, Caleb Love had 21 of his 23 before halftime. Love made six 3-pointers, all in the first 19 minutes, to tie Carolina's single-game tournament record as the Tar Heels (25-9) built a 28-point lead.

Manek, who also had 11 rebounds, finished with five 3s as he and Love combined to go 11 of 24 from long range. Armando Bacot grabbed 10 rebounds on his way to the school season record (422).

Baylor beat Norfolk State 85-49 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament!

In Baylor’s 85-49 win over Norfolk State Hitting five-straight and six of its first eight shots from 3-point range, top-seeded Baylor (27-6) shot a sizzling 57.4% overall and opened defense of its national championship by blowing out the Spartans, 85-49, before a crowd of 12,964.
"Last game, we didn't come out in the Big 12 Tournament and play like we wanted to start the game," Baylor coach Scott Drew said of the Bears' 72-67 loss to Oklahoma, when they were just 3-of-22 from outside the arc. "I think that was a conscious effort of everybody to come out and be more aggressive in both halves. We did that and set the tone early."
Matthew Mayer, in particular, came out on fire. Just 1-of-12 from long range in his last three games, Mayer hit three in a row in a two-minute stretch and helped the Bears take a 27-10 lead in the first 9 ½ minutes.
"That was big," Mayer said of the team knocking down six early 3-pointers. "For me personally, I've been in a little bit of a slump. And my teammates were finding me. Dale (Bonner) found me early; I think Adam (Flagler); and then I just felt a lot better. And, obviously, that helped us win the game."
Mayer, playing in his school-record ninth NCAA Tournament game, was 4-of-7 from 3-point distance and scored a career-high 22 points to go with six rebounds, two steals and a block.
"I think I've had some pretty good ones. But, I think that was a pretty good one," Mayer said. "This one was a lot easier, I would say. Because they were playing in a zone, and my teammates were just whipping the ball around and finding me. I didn't really feel like I had to do too much. I just stood there, and they found me."
This was far from a one-man show, though. Four other players scored in double figures, including pink-haired freshman Jeremy Sochan with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
"From a coaching standpoint, you're always concerned you don't come out and play aggressive," Drew said. "And our guys were really focused from the jump. The staff had a great game plan, the players did a great job executing, and I thought the upperclassmen did a great job making sure the focus and attention to detail was there. It was fun to watch."
Not so much for Norfolk State coach Robert Jones, whose team scored its second-fewest points of the year and allowed its highest shooting percentage.
"At some stretches, I think we let the moment get away from us a little bit," said Jones, whose team fell to 24-7. "Because it's uncharacteristic for us to give up 55%. . . . We missed a lot of defensive rotations today, for whatever reason."
The Spartans had a chance to get back in it, cutting a 19-point deficit down to 14, and had two shots to make it even closer in the final seconds of the first half. But, Daryl Anderson missed a 3-pointer and Joe Bryant Jr. couldn't finish at the rim.
That sequence led to a bizarre half-ending play that took all the momentum away from Norfolk State. Sochan grabbed the rebound, but the Spartans' Terrance Jones punched the ball from behind, all the way to the other end of the court, where a streaking Mayer picked up the loose ball and went in for a dunk that stretched the lead to 43-27.
"I didn't really pass it to him, but I'll take it," said Sochan, who was actually credited with an assist on the play.
"It was weird," Mayer said. "I didn't really see what was happening. I thought it was like a rebound or something, and then all of a sudden, the ball was just right in front of me. I was like, 'Wow!' That was great."
Things didn't go much better for Norfolk State in the second half. The Spartans did start it with a Tyrese Jenkins 3-pointers to pull within 13, but they got no closer the rest of the way.
Baylor was up by 25 at the midway point of the second half and was able to give some unexpected rest to its seven-player rotation. Other than James Akinjo, who had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in 35 minutes, no one else played more than 27 minutes.
Sophomore Jordan Turner matched his season-high with six points in 10 minutes, draining a transition 3-pointer from the top of the key, while Zach Lovedaygot in for six minutes and walk-on forward Austin Sachs played the last two minutes.
"Hopefully, it's beneficial in multiple ways," Drew said of his bench getting some extended minutes. "One, help those guys with experience and be prepared and ready of called upon. And then, two, hopefully these guys have more gas in the tank."
Senior forward Flo Thamba had his parents, Emmanuel Thamba and Florentine Soko-Pongi, watching from the stands for the first time in his collegiate career. And he gave them one to remember, hitting 7-of-9 from the field and finishing with 14 points, six boards, two steals and a block in 25 minutes.
"After the buzzer went off, and then just walking on the side, seeing them smiling and cheering," Thamba said of his parents, "it meant a lot to me. It was special."
Since junior forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Feb. 12 game versus Texas, Thamba has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games. Prior to that, he had scored in double figures just four times in 106 career games.
"First of all, I give credit to my coaches, just believing in me and just working at it and even after practice," Thamba said of his improved offensive game, "working and focusing and finishing off the top of the glass. But, it's just my teammates finding me in the right places and just finishing my breakfast, as I like to call it."
Flagler bounced back from a rough game against Oklahoma to hit 4-of-7 overall and gave the Bears their fifth double-figure scorer with 11 points, three assists, one steal and no turnovers in 22 minutes. Baylor assisted on 24 of 31 buckets, outrebounded Norfolk State, 38-29, and outscored the Spartans, 21-3, in points off turnovers.
Bryant led the Spartans with 15 points, while second-leading scorer Jalen Hawkins was suspended in the first half and didn't score in two minutes.
Baylor, improving to 18-8 in NCAA Tournament play under Drew, advances to the second round to face eighth-seeded North Carolina (25-9) in Saturday's second round with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 28-point lead in the first half and blew out ninth-seeded Marquette, 95-63. Game times for the next round are expected to be announced at the end of Thursday's games.
North Carolina is an eight seed Baylor is a top seed!

North Carolina is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference

Baylor is a member of the Big Twelve!

The winner of the game is going to play the winner of No. 4 UCLA, No 5 Saint Mary’s next week in the Sweet 16.

Tip off is set for 12:10pm from Dickies Arena!

The game is going to be televised on CBS!