On Friday, from American Airlines Center in Dallas, the North Carolina State Wolf Pack will take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. The Wolf Pack are the 11 seed in the South Region, and the biggest underdog left in the big dance. North Carolina State won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with five wins in five days. They are 24-14 after beating Texas Tech in the first round and Oakland in overtime last weekend.
For the Marquette Golden Eagles, they come into the affair with a 27-9 record. The Golden Eagles finished second in the Big East conference. Marquette trailed Western Kentucky at halftime of their first NCAA Tournament, but stormed back to win the game. The Golden Eagles then took care of Colorado in round two.
The Marquette Golden Eagles are the favorites in this game. Marquette is listed at -6.5, with a total of 151.5.
Shaka and the Golden Eagles
The Marquette Golden Eagles are scoring 78.6 points per game. Their ability to knock down the deep shot is there, as they are making nine three point shots per game. The Golden Eagles are shooting over 48% from the field. But, defensively has been the bigger key. Marquette is allowing just at 70 points per game in their last four wins.
Tyler Kolek is back and as healthy as he will be in the postseason. The point guard for Marquette is the second leading score for the team. In the win over Western Kentucky, he scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists. He had another 11 assists in the win over Colorado.
The top scorer for Shaka Smart this season has been Kam Jones. Jones is scoring 23 points per game during the big dance. Third on the team is Oso Ighodaro. He has missed some time this season as well, but scored 10 in 36 minutes against Colorado.
D.J. Burns is a Tough Guard
America is finding out how big and tough DJ Burns of North Carolina State is. The forward from Rock Hill South Carolina is 6’9, and weighs 275 pounds. Burns scored 20 in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game win against North Carolina. In the tournament, he is averaging 20 points per game. He has 11 rebounds against Oakland.
The Wolf Pack have not lost a game since March 9th on the road at Pittsburgh. Following back to back losses to Duke and Pitt, the Wolf Pack were not going to make the at large field. They beat Louisville by 9, Syracuse by 18, Duke by 5, Virginia by 8, and the Tar Heels by 8 to force the hand of the committee.
North Carolina State started the season with four straight wins. They then lost at Thanksgiving to Brigham Young, and right before December at Ole Miss. The Wolf Pack also lost to Tennessee before Atlantic Coast Conference play started.
Golden Eagles are Golden
The Marquette Golden Eagles and North Carolina State WolfPack are locked and loaded for this game. Both teams feel a little slighted as the country is talking about the Houston Cougars and Duke Blue Devils out of the South region.
The winner of this game will face the winner of that. The winner will also be in the Elite 8 on Sunday. In the end, we are going to go with the leadership and ability of Tyler Kolek and Marquette. His passing ability, and the Golden Eagles thoughts on getting stops in the game.
We like Marquette to win this game over North Carolina State. Bet the Golden Eagles -6.5 over the Wolf Pack. North Carolina State wins 77-70.
