NC State vs. Marquette Final Score Prediction for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
By Reed Wallach
The lone double digit seed to make the second weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina State, gets set to tip off against Marquette in the South Region semifinals on Friday night.
The Wolfpack have captured the nation with a run through not only this tournament, but the ACC Tournament the week prior, winning five games in five days. The team will face an elite Marquette team on Friday night, who has eased concerns around star guard Tyler Kolek’s injured oblique that cost him the last six games of the regular season.
The Golden Eagles are considerable favorites to advance, but how will the game play out and can we try our hand at a final score prediction? Of course we can!
Here’s some key betting information as well as a look at how to project the final scoreline.
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NC State vs. Marquette Odds, Spread and Total
NC State vs. Marquette Expert Prediction
From my game preview, Marquette's offense is set to dominate this matchup.
Marquette’s up-tempo attack is going to be too much for the short rotation of the Wolfpack who are a poor transition defense and won’t be able to slow down Marquette’s motion offense that generates some of the most efficient offense in the entire country.
With Kolek and big man Oso Ighadoro (who is an excellent passer in his own right on the short roll), I believe that the Golden Eagles can target Burns in the pick-and-roll and get plenty of high-quality shots both at the rim (26th in field goal percentage at the rim) and the perimeter (59th in 3-point percentage).
NC State vs. Marquette Final Score Prediction
This feels like the end of the road for the Wolfpack, who was able to beat a limited Texas Tech due to lingering injuries and needed overtime to get past Oakland.
The team will struggle to stay in front of Marquette’s inventive offense that has counters upon counters and will make you pay off of misses.
Further, the team’s defense will force the team to play outside of its comfort zone and I believe Kolek’s ability to target DJ Burns on defense will make it difficult for the Wolfpack to keep up possession by possession.
I think Marquette can break this game open up in the second half and play with a comfortable lead throughout, especially with its offensive potency. The team is 15th in effective field goal percentage.
I’ll take the Golden Eagles to break the 80-point barrier and for the Wolfpack’s poor shooting, the team 159th in eFG%, to hold the team back.
Expert Score Prediction: Marquette 86, NC State 71
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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