Marquette got their No. 3 seed after earning a piece of the Big East Conference regular season title. They will face a surging Davidson in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Davidson is a No. 14 seed, however they have won 17-straight games going into this matchup.
Marquette has won their last four of five games. Playing games against Louisville and Georgetown during the regular season have prepared Marquette to play a tough road in the tournament. Marquette's success comes in their rebounding. They have outrebounded opponents four times and is plus-20 over the past two games. They capitalize on the rebounds by turning them into points. They rank 17th in 2-point field goals, shooting 53 percent. They will have to eliminate turnovers facing a very disciplined Davidson team.
Davidson is shooting 46 percent overall and 37 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Junior forward De'Mon Brooks is averaging 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds per game. They are extremely accurate from the foul line, shooting 80 percent. Davidson may be coming into this game slightly underrated; they rallied late in the season after starting January with a 9-7 record. The team is filled with veteran players like Jake Cohen who was named Southern Conference's player of the year after averaging 14.8 points this season. Davidson as a team is no stranger to the tournament. They made a run to the Elite Eight in 2008, eventually losing to Kansas.
Marquette is winning by a margin of at least 18.4 points. Both teams appear to be playing their best basketball late in the season. Despite this being a fourteenth seed facing a three seed, the game could be a lot closer than predicted.
