March 7, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Kwadir Copeland (11) drives the ball against Stanford Cardinal guard Ebuka Okorie (1) during the first half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Image CHARLOTE – North Carolina State could use some positivity to close out the regular season after a rough patch.
The seventh-seeded Wolfpack opens the postseason Wednesday afternoon against 15th-seeded Pitt in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
“We’re going to have some opportunities in Charlotte and hopefully we can close them out and capitalize on them,” NC State coach Will Wade said.
NC State (19-12) ended the regular season on a bitter note with four straight losses. The Wolfpack are 1-6 in their last seven games.
“Your record unfortunately includes a lot of losses and overtime losses and you don’t get points for tries,” said Wade, whose team fell 85-84 to visit Stanford on Saturday.
Pitt (13-19) was also one point behind in its most recent game. The Panthers pulled out a stunning 64-63 win over Stanford on a putback basket by Damarco Minor in the last second of Tuesday’s tournament opener.
The Panthers’ determination pleased coach Jeff Capel III.
“Having 20 offensive rebounds and winning the game with offensive rebounds is really something to be proud of and thankful we get to play another day,” Capel said.
The Panthers have won four of their last six games.
“At the end of the year, we had it,” Capel said. “I try not to look back. I try to be really, really present in this group.”
NC State guard Quadir Copeland was selected to the All-ACC third team after averaging 13.7 points and a league-high 6.6 assists per game. Darrion Williams is the Wolfpack’s top scorer with 14.0 points per game.
“I’m a huge fan of Copeland. I love his spirit and competitive spirit,” Capel said.
NC State won 81-72 at Pitt on Jan. 24.
The Wolfpack leads the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage at 38 percent, but has hit just 28.4 percent from long range over the past four games.
NC State has won five straight ACC Tournament games after an improbable five-day stretch in 2024. The Wolfpack then failed to qualify for last year’s tournament.
You won’t need much March magic this week. But the Wolfpack still has a long way to go to win a championship.
“Strange things can happen,” Wade said. “Anything can happen, but we have to make it happen. We can’t expect it or talk about it. We have to make it happen.”
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
