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Marquette basketball vs. N.C. State prediction: Who has edge in 2024 March Madness Sweet 16?
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- Marquette basketball vs. N.C. State prediction: Who has edge in 2024 March Madness Sweet 16?
INDIANAPOLIS - Longtime fans of the Marquette men's basketball team don't need reminders that the program has faced North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament before.
The then-Warriors made the Final Four for the first time in 1974 . MU reached the championship game, but lost to the Wolfpack with legendary coach Al McGuire picking up two critical technical fouls .
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The Golden Eagles want to reach that stage again. The next step comes against the upstart Wolfpack on Friday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Here is what to know about North Carolina State:
Kevin Keatts was almost on hot seat, but North Carolina State got hot
North Carolina State seemed done when they finished the regular season with a 17-14 record, including going 9-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Then the Wolfpack won five games in five days to win the ACC tournament and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They kept the good vibes going after getting a No. 11 seeding, beating Texas Tech and Oakland to reach the Sweet 16.
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That run also triggered a two-year extension on the contract of head coach Kevin Keatts , who was seen as headed to the hot seat with N.C. State's disappointing season.
D.J. Burns is a 275-pound big man for North Carolina State.
D.J. Burns will be a fun player to watch at the American Airlines Center in Dallas
You can't miss D.J. Burns on the court. The fifth-year big man is listed at 275 pounds, the kind of physical presence that can give MU's Oso Ighodaro trouble.
Burns is a wide load, but he also moves really well. He averages 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
HOW TO WATCH: Game time set for Marquette basketball vs NC State in Sweet 16 of 2024 NCAA Tournament
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Well-traveled DJ Horne is Wolfpack's leading scorer
DJ Horne grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, the city in which N.C. State is located.
Horne is the Wolfpack's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game. But he took to a circuitous route to get back home.
He played his first two seasons at Illinois State, then spent two at Arizona State. He elected to use his fifth season of NCAA eligibility granted to athletes who competed in the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, and transferred to N.C. State.
Marquette prediction vs. North Carolina State: March Madness Sweet 16
The Golden Eagles last played in the Sweet 16 in 2013, when MU beat Miami to advance to the Elite 8. This season's MU team is on a mission, and another victory would further enhance the legacy of its players .
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette vs. NC State prediction, pick for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
