Best College Basketball Prop Bets for NC State vs. Marquette NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
By Reed Wallach
The only double digit seed to make the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 is North Carolina State, but the team will have its hands full with Marquette, who has one of the most inventive offenses in the entire country.
Marquette eased concerns about Tyler Kolek’s health as the veteran guard returned in prime form in the team’s two wins last weekend, can he follow it up against North Carolina State’s defense? I’m eyeing both him and Wolfpack big man DJ Burns in the player prop market on Friday night.
Here’s my three favorite prop bets for Friday’s regional quarterfinal.
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Best College Basketball Player Props for Alabama vs. North Carolina
- Tyler Kolek OVER 7.5 Assists
- DJ Burns OVER 14.5 Points
- Casey Morsell UNDER 12.5 Points + Assists
Tyler Kolek OVER 7.5 Assists
Kolek was at his best last weekend, dishing out 11 assists in both victories as he torched the likes of Western Kentucky and Colorado.
While this is a Sweet 16 matchup, this is still an NC State team that needed a torrid run through the ACC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament and beat a banged up Texas Tech team as well as a Cinderella story in Oakland in overtime to get to this game.
The Wolfpack are a mediocre defense that can be targeted by the pick-and-roll game of Kolek and big man Oso Ighadoro, especially when big man DJ Burns is on the floor.
I expect Kolek to flirt with double digit dimes once again in an up-tempo affair as there should be plenty of assist opportunties for him as Marquette flirts with 80 points yet again.
Despite missing the six games leading up to the ‘Big Dance,’ Kolek only sat two minutes against Western Kentucky before playing all 40 minutes against Colorado. Usage is not an issue here.
DJ Burns OVER 14.5 Points
Kevin Keatts is going to be in a tough position on Friday night as to whether he should sit his big man or not as I expect Marquette to target him relentlessly in ball screen actions.
I expect Keatts to go down with his big man, who has been the team’s most consistent offensive threat for the better part of two weeks. The senior scored 16 in the first round against Texas Tech and 24 against Oakland.
Further, Marquette doesn’t have a bruising big man to check him down low, so I expect the sweet-footed Burns to get position on the likes of Ighadoro and score at an efficient clip.
Casey Morsell UNDER 12.5 Points + Assists
Morsell has played sound defense this tournament and made some clutch plays, but his shooting continues to be a concern. The wing is averaging 11 points per game on the year, but is shooting about 27% from beyond the arc and will face a compact Marquette team that allows a top 20 rate of three-point shots.
The Golden Eagles can turn opponents over, top 20 in TO%, so NC State is going to have to put it up from beyond the arc in hopes of not generating transition opportunities for the Golden Eagles. However, this is where I expect Morsell’s usage to dwindle due to his inability to shoot from the perimeter.
Further, he's not a creator with the ball, averaging less than two assists per game, dishing out fewer than two dimes in every game since March 2.
For what it’s worth, Morsell has not gone over this mark in the last six games. The most recent game, he scored 25 points against Louisville.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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