DALLAS, TEXAS — An eighth-straight win is taking No. 11 NC State to the Elite-8 after beating No. 2 Marquette 67-58.
The Wolfpack led the Golden Eagles for 37 minutes straight, leading by 14 in the first half and increasing it to as many as 16 early in the second.
However, this Sweet Sixteen matchup was not the first time these two teams have met in the National Tournament. Fate would have the Wolfpack win their first National Championship back in 1974, in their first ever meeting with the Golden Eagles, beating Marquette 76-64.
50 years later, the two meet for the sixth time overall, but this result is the same as the first.
A team that started the season 5-1 in ACC play and lost seven of their last nine regular season games, finishing 9-11 in the ACC, is now on an eight-game winning streak in their second-straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Graduate student Casey Morsell’s favorite part of the tournament thus far?
“Proving everyone wrong,” he said.
Marquette was playing in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2011. Head Coach Shaka Smart, while having hosted and beaten the Texas Longhorns earlier this season, returned back to the state he once coached in; players like Cameron Brown and Chase Ross coming back to their hometowns.
Marquette’s Kam Jones led all scorers tonight with 20 points, but it wouldn’t be enough with Marquette having only led the Wolfpack 3 minutes into the game, having trailed at one point by as many as 16 points, and going 4-for-31 behind the arc.
Senior Tyler Kolek said Smart is “trying to build a new legacy here at Marquette,” in Thursday’s media availability.
“Us players are trying to do that for him,” Kolek said.
After the loss, Smart said that it’s seniors like Kolek and Oso Ighodaro that are the ones leaving a standard behind for the years to come.
The Golden Eagles finished the season 27-10.
NC State will play either No. 1 Houston or No. 4 Duke in the American Airlines Center on Sunday.
