NC State takes advantage of Marquette's cold shooting in Sweet 16 win
Jason Fitz, Krysten Peek and Danny Green analyze NC State’s Sweet 16 victory over Marquette, diving into the Golden Eagles’ shooting struggles and what led to their downfall.
Video Transcript
JASON FITZ: Time for the March Madness recap, presented by Max. Remember, coming into the Sweet 16, NC State was the only double-digit seed to make it that far. Well, they're now headed to the Elite Eight, thanks to a win over-- obviously, a big win for them over Marquette. We've got to break it down. Krysten Peek, Danny Green, I'm Jason Fitz. KP, this is unprecedented compared to what we expected for NC State, compared to where they were.
KRYSTEN PEEK: It's unbelievable. NC State is playing every game with a sense of urgency. And they have played more games than anyone else and don't look tired at all. Head Coach Kevin Keatts went from being on the hot seat to winning the ACC Tournament and getting the extension. And now, he's leading his team to the first Elite Eight since 1986.
And I know we want to call them a bid thief, but they have beaten really good teams and more than deserve to be here. Mohamed Diarra is a rebounding machine, 15 rebounds tonight. And DJ Horne hit some big shots down the stretch. And he led all NC State players with 19 points.
JASON FITZ: Yeah. But Danny, what went wrong for Marquette here? I had high expectations for Marquette in this tournament.
DANNY GREEN: I did too. I had them in my Final Four. So my bracket is officially in the garbage with Carolina and Marquette going down. And I hate talking about NC State, so I'll talk about Marquette some. They just couldn't find a rhythm. Early on, they were missing shots. The only two people that scored in double figures was Tyler Kolek and Cam Jones. And they didn't-- and Tyler Kolek shot decently efficiently.
But Cam Jones, 3 for 12 from 3. They shot 13% from the 3-point line, which is unbelievably horrible. You have to rely on your defense. They played decent defense, but not good enough. And there's no defense that's going to save that. You're shooting 13% from 3 and 33% from the field, you really don't have much of a chance. This is one of the nights you're supposed to win your losses, and Marquette just couldn't get it done.
JASON FITZ: Let me ask you, as a former player, when you're shooting that poorly from the outside, do you veer off at some point? Or do you just trust the shots are going to continue to fall somehow? Because it felt like they never stopped shooting, even though it was terrible.
DANNY GREEN: A little bit of both, right? And I was watching the game last night with Carolina, and RJ Davis couldn't get a rhythm either. And you got to find ways to get yourself in rhythm. Obviously, keep shooting the basketball. But taking good ones. But the best way to get yourself in rhythm, not only attacking the basket but getting to the free-throw line. So he had a couple of free throws. Hopefully, that picks him up in rhythm, getting a couple easy ones. And then all you have to do is see one go in.
So Marquette tonight, they could have did a better job of trying to mix it up some, getting to the free-throw line. They did trust in their shooters. Sometimes, you got to just live and die by what your game is. But you got to find ways to give yourselves other-- a chance by doing other things.
JASON FITZ: Well, what I know is that usually, NC State is not the type of school we think of as a Cinderella. But when you're an 11 seed, and you get to the Elite Eight, you can put that glass slipper on. In the meantime, keep up with all the tournament action on Max.