Marquette Golden will take on red hot NC State in the Sweet 16 on Friday. The Wolfpack are the darlings of the Sweet 16. DJ Burns and co. have won 7 games in a row and captured the hearts of America. Can their Cinderella run continue to the Elite Eight, or will Tyler Kolek and the Golden Eagles send them packing?
Aside from UConn, NC State is probably the hottest team in the country. They stunned everyone by winning the ACC Tournament, then rattled off two wins in the Big Dance over Texas Tech and Oakland. They are led by guard DJ Horne who averages 17 ppg and can let it fly from deep. They also have big DJ Burns down low who can score, rebound, and facilitate. Their 199th ranked scoring defense might be in trouble, though, against Marquette’s high powered offense.
The Golden Eagles come into this game after winning two high scoring affairs with Western Kentucky and Colorado. Tyler Kolek has been the X-factor for them in this tournament. The senior guard is averaging 15 points and 11 assists in two games in the tournament. They also have a big man of their own in Oso Ighodaro. The 6’ 11” senior has the ability to pull his matchup away from the basket and create lanes for Marquette’s scorers.