It is the first Sweet Sixteen game on Friday as NC State faces Marquette. It is time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an NC State-Marquette prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
NC State was the 11 seed in the South Region. They are coming in off two solid wins in the first weekend of the tournament. First, they faced the sixth seed at Texas Tech. The game was right in the first half, going back and forth for much of it. It was a three-point game with just 12:32 left in the game,e but NC State went on a great run from there. NC State went on a 13-2 run in the game and would go on to win 80-67. then, they would face Oakland, the 14 seed, in the second round. The game was very tight. NC State did have a three-point lead in the first half, but Oakland would keep it tight. They would tie the game at 66, but NC State would pull away in overtime, winning 79-73.
Meanwhile, Marquette was the two seed in the East Region. They would win two games to get here as well. First, they faced Western Kentucky. Marquette was great in the second half. They found themselves down 43-36 at the half, but a dominant second half propelled them to an 87-69 win. In the second game of the weekend, they would face Colorado. They would have an 11-point lead at the half, but Colorado would make it close. Colorado had the game tied with 4:03 left to go, but Marquette held on, winning 81-77.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
March Madness Odds: NC State-Marquette Odds
NC State: +6.5 (-108)
Moneyline: +225
Marquette: -6.5 (-112)
Moneyline: -280
Over: 151.5 (-105)
Under: 151.5 (-115)
How to Watch March Madness
Time: 7:09 PM ET/ 4:09 PM PT
TV: CBS
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why NC State Will Cover The Spread/Win
NC State comes in ranked 53rd in KenPom's adjusted efficiency rankings this year. They are ranked 42nd in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting 75th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They are 70th in the nation in points per game while they take care of the ball well. NC State is 14th in the nation in turnovers. DJ Horne leads the way this year. He comes in with 16.,7 points per game this year, while also having 2.1 assists per game. Meanwhile, both Jayden Taylor and DJ Burns Jr. come in scoring well. Burns is scoring 12.8 points per game this year and doing this while shooting 52.7 percent from the field this year. Taylor is scoring 11.5 points per game this year while shooting 41.5 percent on the season. Further, Michael O'Connell leads the team in assists this year, with 3.2 per game.
NC State ranks 148th in the nation in rebounds per game this year. Mohamed Diarra leads the team in rebounds this year. He comes in with 7.7 per game, while he is also scoring 6.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Ben Middlebrooks has 4.2 rebounds per game, while DJ Burns comes in with 4.1 rebounds per game this year.
On defense, NC State is 179th in opponent points per game this year, but they do rank 78th in steals per game. DJ Horne leads the way here. He has 1.4 steals per game this year, while he turns over the ball just 1.3 times per game. Further, Jayden Taylor has 1.2 steals per game this year.
Why Marquette Will Cover The Spread/Win
Marquette comes into the game ranked 13th in the nation in KenPoms adjusted efficiency rankings. They are 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting 21st in adjusted defensive efficiency. Marquette is 45th in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting 15th in effective field goals percentage and 15th in assists to turnover ratio. Kam Jones leads the way with 17.1 points per game this year while shooting 50.3 percent from the field. He is also shooting 41.4 percent from three. Meanwhile, Tyler Kolek comes in with 15.3 points per game, while leading the team in assists, with 7.9 assists per game. Rounding out the top scorers is Oso Ighdaro comes in with 13.6 points per game this year while shooting 58.1 percent from the field. Rounding out the top scoring options is Dav id Joplin, who comes in with 11.0 points per game.
Marquette is 292nd in rebounds per game this year, sitting 251st in defensive rebounding rates, and 264th in offensive rebounding rates. Ighodaro leads the way here too. He comes in with 6.8 rebounds per game on the year with over three rebounds per game on the offensive end of the court. Kolek sits second on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game on the season.
Marquette is 94th in the nation in opponent points per game this year, sitting 18th in steals per game. Stevie Mitchell has been great on defense this year. He comes in with 1.9 steals per game, and only turns over the ball .8 times per game. Meanwhile, Kolek has 1.6 steals per game, while three other players have over a steal per game. One of those is Ighodaro, who also has 1.3 blocks per game this year.
Final NC State-Marquette Prediction & Pick
While NC State is having a solid run in the tournament, it will most likely end in this game. Marquette is the better team in this one. While NC State is solid in the rebounding game, and better than Marquette, that is the only place where NC State is better. Marquette is both the better defense and the better offense. Marquette should be able to continue dominating in this game and take the win.
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Final NC State-Marquette Prediction & Pick Marquette -6.5 (-112)
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