The Marquette Golden Eagles are looking to have success in the NCAA Tournament this season. They will be facing the New Mexico Lobos on Friday, March 21 with tip-off scheduled for 6:25 p.m. CT on TBS.
Marquette is the seventh seed entering this matchup and New Mexico is the 10th seed entering this matchup in the South Region. The winner of this game will either face #15 Bryant Bulldogs or #2 Michigan State Spartans on Sunday. This game is taking place in Cleveland, Ohio.
CBS Sports Predicts New Mexico Lobos Could Upset the Marquette Golden Eagles
At this time of year in March Madness, predicting upsets is always fun to think about. However, CBS sports writer Cameron Salerno thinks that the Golden Eagles could very lose to the Lobos on Friday night. Salerno said,
“The Mountain West got as many teams into the tournament as the ACC this year, and it deserved so because, overall, they’re similar leagues. The difference is one has Duke. The other difference is the amount of respect shown to the leagues based on how the committee seeded them. All four Mountain West teams are double-digit seeds, and both of my upset picks come from these under-seeded squads! It’s never a bad thing to be coached by a Pitino in March like the Lobos (coached by Richard Pitino, Rick’s son) are, and while I respect Shaka Smart and Marquette, the Eagles enter the dance having lost three of their last four and seven of their last 12.
New Mexico loves to push the pace. Star guard Donovan Dent is a high-volume scorer in transition, and his team ranked as the fifth-fastest team in the country in time per possession (15.1). Marquette ranked in the 90th percentile per KenPom in transition defense. If New Mexico and Dent can push the pace in this game, the Lobos should be able to pull off an upset and advance to the second round. I highlighted why New Mexico is a sleeper team to reach the Sweet 16 earlier this week.“
For Marquette to avoid the upset against New Mexico, Kam Jones can’t afford to get into foul trouble and he will need to be the primary scorer for the Golden Eagles. Chase Ross, David Joplin, and Stevie Mitchell will also need to be consistent at putting the ball in the net. Ben Gold could be a potential X-Factor for the Golden Eagles.
Shaka Smart and Richard Pitino are very similar coaches. The Lobos won the Mountain West Conference and the Golden Eagles lost to the St. John’s Red Storm in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Despite Marquette’s struggles at the end of the season, they will not be facing a Big East team in the first round which could benefit them. It is understandable why CBS Sports thinks New Mexico can pull off the upset, but Marquette might have the edge also.
