NC State vs. Marquette March Madness Preview and Prediction
In a No. 11 vs. No. 2 matchup in the NCAA Tournament South Region, the NC State Wolfpack face the Marquette Golden Eagles in Sweet 16 action.
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How to Watch NC State vs. Marquette
When: 7:09 p.m. ET on Friday March 29
Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
Watch: CBS
Odds for NC State vs. Marquette
(odds current at time of publish)
Spread: Marquette -6.5
Total: 150
DraftKings Betting Splits | Live College Basketball Odds | NC State vs. Marquette Matchup
South Region No. 11 NC State
NC State shocked the world in winning the ACC tournament, beating Duke in the quarterfinals and North Carolina in the championship game. The Wolfpack are a tricky team to play against, as DJ Burns Jr. is a massive body that throws his weight around near the rim. And DJ Horne is an explosive scorer at the guard position, while Mohamed Diarra is a physical big that does the dirty work. Overall, there’s no denying that NC State has some talent, and Kevin Keatts is a smart head coach. So, you can’t rule out the possibility of the Wolfpack continuing to win games. NC State also backed the ACC tournament up with a thorough beatdown of Texas Tech and an overtime win against Oakland.
South Region No. 2 Marquette Golden Eagles
There are a lot of question marks with Marquette entering the tournament. The Golden Eagles are a top 25 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency, so they have the balance required to be a championship team. They also have an outstanding duo in Tyler Kolek, one of the nation’s best pick-and-roll creators, and Oso Ighodaro, a two-way wrecking ball at the center spot. The two are also aided by the scoring punch of junior guard Kam Jones. The problem is that Kolek is banged up heading into the tournament, as he’s dealing with an oblique injury that forced him out of the Big East tournament. Kolek seems healthy, so this team is capable of continuing this run.
NC State vs. Marquette Preview & Prediction
Hey, yo. If you turned your back on the Wolfpack, you are paying the price here in the month of March. NC State has ripped off seven straight wins and will play in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015. Coincidentally, that was also the last time that the boys from Raleigh won an NCAA Tournament game.
This was a team very much on the outside looking in before blowing through the ACC Tournament with five wins in five days and everybody has had a hand in it, especially DJ Burns with 16.6 PPG in that span, including nearly 20 PPG over the last five games. He was huge with 24 points and 11 boards in the overtime win against Oakland and added four dimes for good measure.
Head coach Kevin Keatts could be in a bit of a tough spot here, though. Not only is Marquette a very good team, but sometimes not playing is worse than riding the adrenaline of a lot of games in a short number of days. His team had seven wins in 11 days and will now return to campus before taking on the Golden Eagles in Dallas later this week.
Shaka Smart’s men of Milwaukee have been tested here in the NCAA Tournament. They played a bad first half against Western Kentucky before pulling away in the second half. They let an 11-point halftime lead evaporate in less than six minutes and actually trailed in the second half against Colorado before ultimately winning by four.
Marquette shot 62% in the win over Colorado and 47.8% against WKU, so they’ve really performed at a high level on the offensive end of the floor with Tyler Kolek and Cam Jones leading the way. Kolek has 22 assists in two games and NC State was very shaky on the defensive end before the ACC Tournament, so it will be up to the Wolfpack to stay sharp on offense.
Estimated Score: Marquette 79.3 – NC State 72.9
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