The Golden Eagles (22-15), one of the two Big East Conference teams (out of 11 selected) to make it to the Sweet 16, couldn't buy a basket over a stretch of 8 minutes, 43 seconds. They went 0 for 13 in that time period and committed five turnovers. Coach Buzz Williams called three timeouts trying to stop the bleeding, but nothing worked.
"We were pitiful," Williams said.
"We were very lucky," countered North Carolina coach Roy Williams. "They had a lot of shots that they normally make that didn't go in for them."
More than luck was involved. Six Carolina players scored during the 19-0 run; John Henson led them with six points and Kendall Marshall added four. The Tar Heels scored off each of the five turnovers committed by the Golden Eagles during that time, capped by a pretty alley-oop from Marshall to Henson for a thunderous dunk.
Leslie McDonald's layup marked the end of the run and a 27-10 North Carolina lead. The Tar Heels had one more spurt left in them in the opening half to extend their advantage to 40-15 at the break, then boosted that margin to 33, at 51-18, barely three minutes into the second half.
"We did a great job of forcing them out of their offense," said junior center Tyler Zeller, who led the Tar Heels with 27 points and 12 rebounds. "We didn't let them take a comfortable shot, something we probably didn't do as well in the second half. But if we can play like we did in the first half every game, we'll be all right."
Despite their struggles, the Golden Eagles kept playing. They gradually chipped away and got as close as 14 - 69-55 - on Jimmy Butler's dunk with 4:21 to play, but the hill was too steep to climb.
"You have to give Marquette credit, because they kept digging in and competing," Roy Williams said. "I was disappointed in the way we played at some times, but I never felt like the game was threatened or anything."
Freshman Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Tar Heels, who shot a not-too-spectacular 41.9 percent, while John Henson contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Carolina held a 23-11 edge on second-chance points.
Davante Gardner led the Golden Eagles with 16 points, and Jimmy Butler added 14. Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette's leading scorer with a 16.0-point average, shot just 2 for 9 from the field and scored just seven points.
The Golden Eagles, seeking their first Final Four since the Dwyane Wade team of 2003, could only wonder why they weren't able to play in the first half the way they did in the second - 51.5 percent shooting, 48 points.
"We were completely uncharacteristic in every facet of the game" in the first half, Buzz Williams said, "and that's a complete credit to them."
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.
