The second-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles make their first Sweet 16 appearance in more than a decade when they take on the No. 11 seed North Carolina State Wolfpack in the South Region semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Marquette (27-9) last reached the Round of 16 in 2013, when it defeated Miami (FL) to advance to the Elite Eight for the seventh time in school history. This year, the Golden Eagles cruised past Western Kentucky in the first round before edging Colorado 81-77 on Sunday. NC State (24-14) upset sixth-seeded Texas Tech 80-67 in the first round before outlasting Oakland 79-73 in overtime on Saturday.

Tipoff at American Airlines Center in Dallas is scheduled for 7:09 p.m. ET. The Golden Eagles are 7-point favorites in the latest Marquette vs. NC State odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 151.

Before making any NC State vs. Marquette picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 152-109 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,800 for $100 players. It also has a strong 32-21 (+890) record on top-rated spread picks this season, and it called 13 Sweet 16 teams this year. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Marquette's Tyler Kolek hasn't shown any rust in his return after having missed the team's last six games prior to the Tournament with an oblique injury. The senior guard has posted back-to-back double-doubles during March Madness, recording 18 points and 11 assists against Western Kentucky in the first round before notching a game-high 21 points and 11 assists versus Colorado. Five of the seven players who saw action on Sunday scored in double figures, with sophomore guard Chase Ross coming off the bench to go 5-for-6 from the field and finish with 12 points.

But the model also has taken into account that all five of NC State's starters reached double digits in points against Oakland on Saturday. Senior forward DJ Burns Jr. led the charge with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Senior guard Michael O'Connell added 12 points while junior forward Mohamed Diarra recorded his sixth double-double of 2023-24 and fourth in five games with 11 points and 13 boards.

For Friday, the model has set its sights on Marquette vs. NC State. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time! You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Marquette vs. NC State, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the NC State vs. Marquette spread you should be all over Friday, all from the model on a 32-21 roll on top-ranked college basketball spread picks!