The Marquette men's basketball team picked the wrong night to have a bad night.
The Golden Eagles missed 27 of 31 three-point attempts and fell to NC State in the NCAA Tournament, 67-58 . It's the first time that the MU program has advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2013, but the Final Four dream ended Friday in Dallas .
Kam Jones led Marquette with 20 points but made just 3 of 12 three-pointers. Tyler Kolek added 17.
Marquette held NC State star DJ Burns to four points, but the backcourt of DJ Horne and Casey Morsell combined for 34 points.
TRENDING: Marquette basketball has horrible shooting night in Sweet 16 loss to NC State, social media reacts
The Wolfpack advance to the Elite Eight and will face No. 4 seed Duke on Sunday after the Blue Devils upset No. 1 Houston in the other Sweet 16 game in the South Region on Friday.
Here's a review of the Marquette-NC State game in reverse chronological order.
| Team |
First Half |
Second Half |
Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette |
24 |
34 |
58 |
| NC State |
37 |
30 |
67 |
Marquette's season comes to an end with a 67-58 loss to NC State. The Golden Eagles made just 4 of 31 three-pointers.
Kolek makes 1 of 2 free throws and MU gets a break when Diarra can't control the ball and it goes out of bounds. Kam Jones then hits a three giving the Golden Eagles basically a four-point possession, but Joplin is forced to foul Diarra under the basket and the NC State forward makes both free throws. Mitchell misses a three and Marquette struggles to give a foul before Kolek is whistled for one with 29.4 seconds left.
Jones made the free throw and Morsell missed a jumper, but Jones and Joplin missed two more three-pointers and a drive off the glass by Morsell made the lead 60-52 with 2:21 to play. Play was stopped at the 1:50 mark due to Ighodaro having a bloody nose. When play resumed Horne found O'Connell at the end of the shot clock for an open three and put the Wolfpack up 63-52 with 1:24 to play.
A drive by Jones cuts the lead to six and extends Marquette's run to 11-2 before NC State's Horne answers with a three.
Jones answers with another basket and a foul and will shoot a free throw after the final TV timeout. Marquette trails 58-51 with 3:39 to play.
A blocked shot by Ross leads to a Kolek-to-Ighodaro bucket and free throw that pulls the Golden Eagles to within 8 at 53-45.
The Golden Eagles are on a 7-0 run as the Wolfpack have not scored in over three minutes. However a broken play led to a layup for Diarra to end the run. Joplin appeared to travel, but it was not called and Kolek was fouled and hit two free throws and its 55-47 NC State with 4:50 to play.
Will a trap and turnover by DJ Burns spark a run? Down 46-34, Oso Ighodaro splits a pair of free throws, but DJ Horne ends an NC scoring drought with a jumper before Marquette gets a three from Jones to fall. However, with the shot clock winding down Horne answers Jones' three and a second chance basket by Mohamed Diarra stretches the lead back to 53-38 with 9:32 left. A pair of Chase Ross free throws and some rare offensive rebounding give Joplin a third chance to pull MU within 53-42 with 7:47 to play.
Despite its continued scoring difficulty, Marquette is within 11 after a nifty drive by Jones, but another missed three by Gold leads to a easy transition dunk by Ben Middlebrooks.
Marquette is 2 of 17 from 3-pt range and is amazingly down only 13 points, 46-33 with 11:33 left.
Marquette misses its first four shots of the second half and NC State missed three more before Morsell's three-pointer gives the Wolfpack its biggest lead at 40-24.
Two free throws and a blocked shot by Kolek led to a run-out by Joplin and a dunk to pull Marquette within 40-28, but NC State stretches the lead to 44-28 before Mitchell's layup, assisted by Jones, pulls the Golden Eagles to within 44-30 with a free throw coming at the 15:47 mark.
Marquette played one of its best first halves of the season against Colorado in its second-round NCAA Tournament win on Sunday by jumping out to a 45-34 lead.
On Friday in the Sweet 16 against NC State the Golden Eagles likely played its worst of the season.
Tyler Kolek is the only player generating any kind of offense. The senior All-American guard leads Marquette with 14 points (nearly 60% of the team's points) on 6 of 8 shooting. He's also been active on the glass with five rebounds.
David Joplin is 0 for 6 from the field and hasn't scored. Oso Ighodaro has two points on 1 of 3 shooting, including a missed dunk. Kam Jones, who is Marquette's top scorer this season, has just five points.
Marquette also has five turnovers.
The Golden Eagles were in a big funk toward the end of the first half against Western Kentucky in the first round a week ago before regrouping and pulling away for the win. Can they find their shooting touch in the second half and make a game of this?
NC State has a balanced attack. Seven players have scored with guard DJ Horne leading the way with nine points on 3 of 6 shooting. Guard Casey Morsell has eight points on 4 of 7 shooting.
The Wolfpack is shooting 53.6% from the field after making 15 of 28 shots, 5 of 13 from three-point range (38.5%) and 2 of 5 from the free-throw line (40%).
NC State is outrebounding Marquette, 22-14. No one has had a bigger impact on the glass than Mohamed Diarra. He has 11 rebounds, 10 coming on the defensive end. Marquette is one and done on almost all of its shots thanks to Diarra cleaning up the glass.
Marquette being 2 of 13 from 3-point range has certainly contributed to the double digit deficit at halftime, but it could be worse as North Carolina State has eight turnovers.
Joplin was fouled on a three-point attempt with 2.2 seconds left but missed all three. It's a fitting end to a poor first half for the Golden Eagles. They are shooting 34.5% and are just 2 of 8 from the line. Kolek is 6 of 8, but his teammates have made just 4 of 21 shots. Kolek has 14 of Marquette's 24 points.
DJ Burnes has passed out of a Marquette double-team twice and the secondary ball movement has resulted in a missed open three, a dunk and a made open 3-pointer to give NC State a 34-22 lead with 2:23 to play in the half forcing Shaka Smart to call a timeout.
NC State has seen turnovers but Marquette has only scored four point off of those mistakes and still trails 26-19 with 3:59 left in the half. The two teams are a combined 4 of 21 from 3-point range
The Officials change offensive foul on DJ Burnes to a cylinder foul on Stevie Mitchell, but a shot clock violation causes another turnover
Suddenly Marquette isn't the only team that can't find the range as NC State starts to go cold coming out of the timeout. However, a turnover by Kolek leads to a transition basket by Casey Morsell, but a return steal and basket by Stevie Mitchell and Marquette's first three by Jones cut NC State's lead to 24-19.
Burns gets his first basket on the next possession, but a double team by Marquette forces NC State's star big man to commit an offensive foul and another turnover with 5:47 left in the half.
Marquette trails, 26-19. MU is 1-11 from 3-point range and shooting 34% overall.
N.C. State gets a 3-point make off an offensive rebound after Kam Jones missed MUs fourth straight attempt from behind the arc. Horne's basket gave NC State a 14-8 lead and after Kolek's third layup, Horne hit another three while being fouled to give the Wolfpack a 18-10 lead on the four-point play. The lead grows to 20-10 before Jones hits an off the glass jumper to cut the deficit back to eight. The Golden Eagles continue to struggle from the perimeter, missing all six 3-point shots. They trail 20-12 with 11:35 left in the half.
Marquette chose to attack NC State big man DJ Burns immediately, as Tyler Kolek threw a pass over the top of Burns as soon as he came up to help creating an easy layup for Oso Ighodaro, after a return basket, Kolek is fouled on a driving layup and makes the free throw for a 5-2 lead. Marquette misses three straiaght three-point attempts and a tip-in by Burnes and a three from Michael O'Connell gives NC state a 7-5 lead before Kolek ties the game with another drive to the hoop. However DJ Horne's jumper gives the Wolfpack a 9-7 lead with 15:39 left
Tyler Kolek and the Marquette men's basketball team received a hero's sendoff prior to their Sweet 16 game against NC State.
Marquette fans sure traveled well to Dallas.
The Marquette basketball team welcomed a guest to their shootaround today at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Former Marquette star Olivier-Maxence Prosper, who is in his first year with the Dallas Mavericks , stopped by practice.
Maxence Prosper was selected with the 24th pick of the 2023 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings with his rights traded to Dallas.
Maxence Prosper played his final two college seasons with the Golden Eagles.
Marquette basketball has some special NCAA Tournament history on this date.
Twenty-one years ago, Dwyane Wade 's triple double propelled Marquette to the Final Four.
Will the Golden Eagles feel elite today and get one game closer to their first Final Four since that 2003 season?
DJ Burnes Jr. will be a handful for Marquette in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-9, 275-pound senior is coming off one of his best games of the season.
He scored 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting and had 11 rebounds in the Wolfpack's 79-73 overtime win over Oakland. That performance came after he had 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting in just 16 minutes as he battled foul trouble.
For the season he's averaging 12.8 points on 52.7% shooting.
TV channel: CBS
Stream: NCAA March Madness Live app | Fubo (free trial)
Marquette will tip off vs. NC State on CBS . Streaming options include the NCAA March Madness Live app and Fubo, which offers a free trial . Announcers for the game are Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Grant Hill and Bill Raftery (analysts) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter).
HOW TO WATCH: Marquette vs. NC State time, TV schedule for March Madness game
Start time: 6:09 p.m.
TV info: CBS (Channel 58 in Milwaukee )
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Marquette: The Golden Eagles are playing in their first Sweet 16 game since the 2013 season. They defeated Western Kentucky in the first round and Colorado in the second round . For the season, junior guard Kam Jones leads four players in double figures with 17.1 points per game. He's averaging 23 points in the two tournament games. All-American point guard Tyler Kolek is averaging 19 points and 11 assists per game in the first two NCAA Tournament wins.
NC State: The Wolfpack are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2015 season. NC State has won seven straight games, dating back to five straight in five days to win the ACC Conference tournament. The Wolfpack needed to win the tournament to qualify for March Madness. They kept their run going in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting No. 6 Texas Tech in the first round and then taking down Cinderella Oakland in the second round. NC State won its first NCAA championship over Marquette in 1974 .
Odds according to BetMGM .
Spread:Marquette -6.5
Over/under:150.5
Moneyline:Marquette -300; NC State +230
Will Marquette or NC State advance to the Elite 8?
Marquette is favored over NC State , but if Thursday's Sweet 16 games are any indication, watch out for the underdogs. Three favorites went down, including two No. 2 seeds, Iowa State and Arizona.
Journal Sentinel Marquette beat reporter Ben Steele notes that this Golden Eagles team "is on a mission" and another win would enhance the players' legacy .
Sweet 16 bracket predictions: Will Marquette basketball or NC State reach the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament?
Marquette: The Golden Eagles were a banged up team during the Big East tournament. But Shaka Smart's team appears to be as healthy as it has been in a while entering the Sweet 16 game .
Tyler Kolek has returned to the lineup after missing six games with an oblique injury leading into the NCAA Tournament and looks better than ever. Oso Ighodaro left the Big East tournament championship game two weeks ago with a knee injury but has started both NCAA Tournament games. After scoring just four points in the first round win over Western Kentucky he had 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting against Colorado in the second round.
Meanwhile, guard Sean Jones, who suffered a torn ACL in January, continues his recovery .
Marquette
PPG: 78.6
PPG allowed: 69.9
FG%: 48.2%
3PT%: 36.0%
KenPom ranking: 13
NC State
PPG: 76.5
PPG allowed: 72.6
FG% 45.1%
3PT%: 34.7%
KenPom ranking: 53
Odds according to BetMGM :
Marquette: +1800 (current); +2000 (opening)
NC State: +10000 (current); +15000 (opening)
The past five games of Marquette's 2023-24 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here
| Date |
Opponent |
Result |
| Sunday, March 24 |
vs. Colorado (NCAA Tournament Second Round) |
|
| Friday, March 22 |
vs. Western Kentucky (NCAA Tournament First Round) |
|
| Saturday, March 16 |
vs. UConn (Big East Tournament championship) |
|
| Friday, March 15 |
vs. Providence (Big East Tournament semifinals) |
|
| Thursday, March 14 |
vs. Villanova (Big East Tournament quarterfinals) |
The past five games of NC State's 2023-24 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here .
| Date |
Opponent |
Result |
| Saturday, March 23 |
vs. Oakland (NCAA Tournament Second Round) |
W, 79-73 |
| Thursday, March 21 |
vs. Texas Tech (NCAA Tournament First Round) |
W, 80-67 |
| Saturday, March 16 |
vs. UNC (ACC Tournament championship) |
W, 84-76 |
| Friday, March 15 |
vs. Virginia (ACC Tournament semifinals) |
W, 73-65 |
| Thursday, March 14 |
vs. Duke (ACC Tournament quarterfinals) |
W, 74-69 |
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's season ends after loss to NC State in Sweet 16, highlights
