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FORT WORTH, TX – One of the intriguing things about many matchups in the NCAA Tournament is how teams are usually unfamiliar with each other. Other than watching film for a couple of days, they just don’t know their opponent all that well.

But that’s not exactly the case for Marquette. Two Golden Eagles players know quite a bit about North Carolina, as the teams prepare for their meeting Thursday in the first round of the East Region at Dickies Arena.

First, Marquette beat the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last season. And while most of that team is gone, as just three players returned from its roster, one of the best players in that game is still with the Golden Eagles. And Greg Elliott has a handle on what the Heels are all about.

He can take something from last year’s game and apply it to Thursday’s battle between the No. 8 seed Tar Heels (24-9) and No. 9 seed Golden Eagles (19-12).

“It was really just knowing about their personnel, mainly,” Elliott said Wednesday, in Marquette’s press conference in advance of the first round. “Usually you come to the tournament, you have no basis on who you're getting ready to play.

“I got the chance to play against a couple of those guys, so I know what they like to do, how aggressive they are in the way they guard. So, I know what shots will be available for me and my teammates, and I made sure we knew about that.”

Elliott, a 6-foot-3 junior, played 31 minutes that night, scoring 15 points, grabbing three rebounds, handing out an assist, and registering four steals. The Carolina guards he may have to deal with Thursday combined to shoot 4-for-16 from the field that night, with Caleb Love going 0-for-6 and RJ Davis 4-for-10.

In the era of the transfer portal, Marquette center Kur Kuath and UNC forward Brady Manek know plenty about each other, as well. They were teammates the previous three seasons at Oklahoma. At 6-foot-10, Kuath and the 6-foot-9 Manek surely battled a lot in practice. But were also teammates on the court.

Kuath says knowing Manek’s game is helping the Golden Eagles prepare for Carolina’s sometimes-lethal stretch four.

“It's been a big help, you know,” Kuath said. “Just being able to play against somebody I've played against - I mean, played with the last three years, you know. It’s just helpful for my teammates because I'm able to give them the insides and outs of how he likes to play, what are the tendencies, his weaknesses, his strengths.

“So that's a big help for everybody, you know, anybody guarding him tomorrow.”

As for Manek’s improvements, notably his assist numbers that are way up from his days as a Sooner, Kuath doesn’t see much difference in his game.

“I haven't noticed anything different in his game,” Kuath said. “Playing with Brady, you know, he's always been a good passer, but I guess guys are just hitting shots.”

The former teammates haven’t spoken since going their separate ways, either. But Kuath and Elliott will get a chance to face a group they know quite a bit about Thursday, which gives them a unique advantage for an NCAA Tournament game.