DALLAS — NC State men’s basketball danced to the Elite Eight after it held a firm lead over the Marquette Golden Eagles for the majority of the Sweet 16 game. There were no matchups that Marquette head coach Shaka Smart could exploit against NC State, leading to a 67-58 Wolfpack victory.

To Smart’s credit, he was able to limit graduate forward DJ Burns offensively, with the big man totaling just four points. Burns, who has gotten national attention for his scoring prowess and dynamic personality, was effective against Marquette (27-10) in a different way, dishing out seven assists.

“Obviously, they did a good job of taking him away, but he became a very efficient passer,” said head coach Kevin Keatts.

Graduate guards DJ Horne and Casey Morsell stepped up in key ways during the Sweet 16 matchup.

Horne starred as a spark plug early on, helping on defense and recording early field goals. At the half, Horne and Morsell combined for 17 of the Wolfpack’s 37 points, creating a 13-point lead over the Golden Eagles.

NC State did not have to do much to maintain this lead. Marquette went on to shoot 11% from distance and 32% from the field — an abysmal shooting performance that’s uncharacteristic of what has been a high-flying Marquette team this season.

Morsell took on the responsibility of defending Marquette’s star point guard Tyler Kolek. The Marquette star scored 17 points for the Golden Eagles but was limited to three assists.

“[Kolek] had a pretty good scoring night,” Morsell said. “But trying to hold him below his assist average was something I tried to prioritize.”

Graduate guard Michael O’Connell continued to step up in clutch moments for the red-and-white. With a minute and a half left of game time, O’Connell buried a 3-pointer that brought the lead back to double-digits, effectively ending any comeback attempt.

“We just want to keep winning and stay alive,” O’Connell said. “It gives you a little extra motivation to get prepped and get ready to go.”

Of all the storylines from this game, perhaps the biggest was the stellar performance of graduate forward Mohamed Diarra, who continues to fast during Ramadan.

Diarra posted his fifth double-double in six games, willing the Wolfpack to victory by getting second-chance opportunities and finishing plays on a night where he recorded 11 points and 15 rebounds.

“When good players start getting great stats you don’t even realize they have it until the end of the game,” Keatts said. “I never knew he had 15 rebounds — he’s been so valuable.”

NC State is on an unprecedented run that will be remembered and discussed by NC State fans, students and alumni for years to come. Although nobody could have predicted the success of this team based on the regular season, Burns maintains the idea that he knew all along.

“If you let me tell it, I imagined it way back in October,” Burns said. “It was just the, ‘Why not us’ thing — we’re going to keep that going. We get a lot of disrespect, people still don’t think we’re supposed to be here, [but] we’re going to keep trying to crash the party.”

Next up, the Wolfpack will take on Duke in the Elite Eight in Dallas, Texas. Tip-off is set for 5:05 p.m. on CBS.