NEWARK, N.J -- Tyler Zeller had 27 points and 15 rebounds and second-seeded North Carolina used a first-half blitz to blow out 11th seed Marquette 81-63 in an East Region semifinal Friday night.

Harrison Barnes scored 20 points and John Henson added 14 and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (29-7), who will play the winner of Kentucky-Ohio State in the regional final Sunday.

Davante Gardner scored 16 points and Jimmy Butler added 14 for Marquette (22-15), which became the 10th of 11 Big East teams to be eliminated.

Marquette had an early 10-8 lead before North Carolina busted the game open by scoring 19 unanswered points, holding the Golden Eagles scoreless for nearly nine minutes. North Carolina held the Golden Eagles to 6-of-31 shooting in the first half, including 0 of 8 from beyond the arc, and forced 12 turnovers to take a 40-15 lead into the break.

The Tar Heels stretched the lead to 51-18 on a pair of Zeller free throws with 17:01 left before coasting to the finish line.