NC State vs Marquette Predictions, Picks, and Odds for March Madness Sweet 16 Matchup

The Marquette Golden Eagles and NC State Wolfpack are set to battle tonight with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

The Wolfpack have kept their end-of-season dream going, busting plenty of March Madness brackets along the way. Over the last 16 days, NC State has won seven games straight and an ACC Championship. It got here by defeating Oakland: yet again, the Pack came up clutch. 

The Golden Eagles have also been quite impressive throughout this tournament. They battled with Colorado to get here but mainly controlled throughout and won the game by four. This win continued a nice run for the Eagles, who have won five of their last six. 

What's the best bet for this Sweet 16 affair? Find out when I look at the March Madness odds and give my March Madness picks for Friday, March 29. 

For more analysis of this game, check out Jason Logan's NC State vs. Marquette props!

NC State vs Marquette odds

Teams
Marquette	-6.5	-6.5
	-112	-109
NC State	+6.5	+6.5
	-108	-103

Result
Over	150	151.5
	-112	-108
Under	150	151.5
	-108	-108

Teams
Marquette	-285	-276
NC State	+230	+234

Pinnacle odds only available in Canada.

NC State vs Marquette picks and predictions

This is an advantageous matchup for Marquette. 

NC State will play at the tempo the Eagles want, as they both average 72 possessions per game and have plenty of opportunities to run their highly efficient offense. In my estimation, there's quite a strong coaching edge. Marquette head coach Shaka Smart has certainly had his issues in the tournament, but based on his body of work alone, he's much more equipped than his opposition in Kevin Keatts to handle these moments. 

While I lean toward Marquette covering the spread here, it does fall directly in line with my projection. There are better ways of betting on Marquette to execute, but they have better value. For me, that's Tyler Kolek exceeding his assist prop of 7.5.

Kolek has taken his facilitation up to the next level since returning from injury, recording 11 assists in back-to-back games. The most previous came against Colorado when he went Over this total in the first half. He should have an opportunity to do something similar here.

NC State has struggled mightily defensively against pick-and-roll sets. It's in the bottom 28% of college basketball defensively and one of the worst in the ACC. This is one of the few offenses that the Pack have faced amid their run that is going to make big man DJ Burns defend in space. Nine out of 10 times, Kolek will make the correct read when he drags him away from the basketball on those high-ball screens. 

In addition to the porous half-court defense from NC State, the Pack pressed at one of the highest rates of anyone in the country this season. Kolek is a perfect press breaker and will have ample opportunities in these sped-up situations to get assist opportunities.

He'll be the best playmaker on the floor in this matchup, and the Pack are a defense that'll allow the Marquette offense to work effectively and efficiently.

My best bet: Tyler Kolek Over 7.5 assists (-160 at DraftKings)

NC State vs Marquette same-game parlay

Tyler Kolek Over 7.5 assists

Marquette moneyline

+126 at DraftKings

Each of these defenses has some issues in this matchup. The Over is a good play with that in mind, but my projections show no value for the number. In addition, they see no value in the spread as it completely aligns with my projection.

I'm pairing my Kolek best bet with Marquette to win the game. It's hard to imagine any team in the country winning a game against the Golden Eagles that turns into a slugfest. It certainly won't be this NC State team. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

NC State vs Marquette spread and Over/Under analysis

• This spread opened up with Marquette as a 7.5-point favorite and has seen one-way action on NC State, as the spread is now down to 6.5.
• These two have played just twice in school history and have split the two meetings. The last game was a win for NC State in 2009.
• NC State has hit the moneyline in their last seven games (+14.75 Units / 115% ROI), while Marquette has hit it in 15 of its last 19 games (+11.20 Units / 15% ROI)

NC State vs Marquette betting trend to know

Marquette has covered the spread in 14 of its last 20 games (+7.45 Units / 34% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for NC State vs. Marquette.

NC State vs Marquette game info

NC State vs Marquette key injuries

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