“Man, he’s so important to this team,” Jones said Thursday. “He carries himself with a great demeanor, a serious demeanor. He wants to win. He’s sharpened my competitive edge, being around him.

“We need his leadership. We know he’s going to bring it. He brings it in practice, in meetings and in the games.”

The Pack, the 11th seed in the region, has been able to find the answers so far, advancing through Washington and Pittsburgh.

Burns has been the biggest answer, in more ways than one, and had a CBS cameraman tracking his every move Thursday at the arena. If the Pack must deal with containing Kolek and Jones, Marquette must try to handle Burns with a senior center in Oso Ighodaro listed at 6-11 and 235 pounds.

“We were watching film today and he hit like a spin fadeaway, kind of like ‘Escalade’ from the AND1 Mixtapes,” a smiling Kolek said of Burns, comparing him to Troy “Escalade” Jackson, a Mixtapes streetball favorite who also was oversized.

In its seven-game run, the Pack has gotten the biggest plays when needed — against Oakland last week, Michael O’Connell’s 3-point play late in regulation and Jayden Taylor’s 3-pointer in overtime as the Pack won 79-73 and advanced to the Sweet 16.

Taylor, a transfer from Butler, played against Marquette in the Big East and said he usually was matched up against Jones, who is 6-5 and 200 pounds and leads the Golden Eagles with 17 points a game. That could mean O’Connell or Casey Morsell could draw the assignment on Kolek, listed at 6-3 and 195.

“Both are really good guards and both like to go left,” Taylor said. “Also a big presence and a live threat. They really play well together. Kolek’s the kind who makes the other guys better, which is the biggest thing about him.”

Taylor said the Pack could look to wear down the two guards — averaging a combined 32 points — by making them work defensively in the Golden Eagles’ man to man D.

If the Pack can negate Kolek and Jones, it can keep the run going. There are many variables that go into winning, but that will be a Wolfpack priority Friday as it seeks to reach its first NCAA regional final since 1986.

“It’s been unbelievable,” O’Connell said. “We went from the being a team that was the 10th seed in the ACC tournament to winning it all to now we’re in the second weekend of the (NCAA) Tournament. I mean, it’s a dream come true, something you dream about a kid.”

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