Marquette faced ridicule following a tough Sweet 16 defeat against NC State, drawing merciless taunts from social media observers. The Golden Eagles’ shooting woes were glaring as they fell 67-58 to NC State at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Their accuracy plummeted, hitting only 33.3% of their field goals and a dismal 12.9% from beyond the arc, converting just four of 31 attempts.
The flood of memes mocking Marquette far surpassed their successful three-pointers. Marquette’s guards Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones carried the offensive burden, contributing 37 points on 14/31 shooting and all four made threes. However, the rest of the team struggled immensely, shooting 20.7% from the field and missing all 11 three-point tries.
Despite Marquette’s falter, NC State’s victory propelled them forward in their remarkable journey, marked by surprising upsets in the ACC Tournament and now in March Madness. Their ability to contain NC State’s standout DJ Burns, who scored just four points, was notable. NC State’s senior guards DJ Horne and Casey Morsell stepped up, scoring 19 and 15 points respectively, leading their team to a clash with Duke in the Elite Eight.
