March 11, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) reacts after scoring in the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images CHARLOTE – Quadir Copeland had 24 points and eight assists in North Carolina State’s 98-88 victory over Pitt in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Wednesday afternoon.
Ven-Allen Lubin had 18 points, Paul McNeil Jr. had 15, Tre Holloman had 14, Darrion Williams and Matt Able both had 12 and the Wolfpack shot 60.8% from the field. NC State made 13 of 23 3-pointers.
Seventh-seeded NC State (20-12), which earned its second win in eight games, will face No. 10 second-seeded Virginia in the first quarterfinals on Thursday.
Cameron Cohen poured in 27 points on 9-for-12 shooting for 15th-seeded Pitt (13-20), which had won four of its previous six games. Nojus Indrusaitis and Omari Witherspoon, who hit five 3-pointers, each scored 19 points, and Barry Dunning Jr. added 11 points, but the Panthers’ 57.1% shooting was not enough.
The Wolfpack scored 22 of the first 30 points in the second half to build a 73-58 lead over a Pitt team that had upset Stanford with a last-minute shot off a rebound a day earlier.
Pitt closed the gap with an 11-3 run and later trailed 78-72 with more than 10 minutes left before Terrance Arceneaux’s 3-pointer was the only goal of the game.
With eight minutes to play, NC State had five players scoring in double figures, and Williams joined them shortly after hitting his fourth 3-pointer in four attempts. Later, Copeland made a nice move down the lane to extend NC State’s lead to 88-83.
Both teams shot over 61 percent in the first half, which ended with NC State holding a 51-50 advantage. The two teams combined for 16 of 25 3-pointers before the break.
Thanks to the successful shooting, there were only 3 offensive rebounds in the first half. NC State held a 16-7 scoring advantage at the free throw line.
Pitt made 12 of its first 18 shots from the field, including 8 of 12 3-pointers, to take a 34-25 lead. But the Wolfpack rolled, and McNeil’s three 3-pointers led to a surge less than four minutes later for a 10-0 run and a 43-40 lead.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
