February 9, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; NC State Wolfpack coach Will Wade gave instructions during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum. center. Louisville defeated NC State 118-77. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Image NC State’s last two games couldn’t have been more different in terms of performance level.
The Wolfpack catalyzed the restart with a competitive 82-58 victory over then-No. After playing No. 16 North Carolina on Feb. 17, they lost 90-61 at No. 11 Virginia on Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (19-9, 10-5 ACC) will be looking for more stability when they face lowly Notre Dame (12-16, 3-12) on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.
After starting 9-2 in conference play, NC State has lost three of its last four games. Two of their three losses were by more than 29 points, including a 118-77 loss at then-No. This slide begins on February 9th at 24 Louisville.
“When we were bad, we were really, really bad,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “That’s who we were.”
Virginia limited the Wolfpack to a season-worst 29.4% shooting, while NC State’s defense offered little resistance, with the Cavaliers shooting 53.4% from the floor and 46.2% from 3-point range.
Paul McNeil Jr. (22), Darrion Williams (14) and Ven-Allen Lubin (11) all reached double figures for NC State, but each needed more than 10 field goal attempts to get there.
The Wolfpack entered this week as the No. 7 seed in ESPN’s updated bracket, but Wade didn’t have a lot of confidence in his team at the moment.
“We’re not ready to compete with the best in the league right now, that’s just a fact,” he said.
Notre Dame has been plagued by injuries over the past three contests, including missing star guard Marcus Burton and second-leading scorer Jalen Haralson (15.5 points per game) since early December.
Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry was added to the list after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in Tuesday’s 100-56 home win over No. 1 Duke.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Shrewsberry said after attending the postgame press conference on crutches. “The season of hell continues.”
Cole Serta has filled some of Notre Dame’s scoring void, including scoring a career-high 37 points in the most recent win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 14. But he has shot below 33.3 percent in the two games since, including 3 of 11 points Tuesday to finish with 14 points.
Since winning their ACC opener, the Fighting Irish have lost 12 of their last 14 games. They are in serious jeopardy as they are tied at 3-12, one of three teams to miss the ACC Tournament, and are fighting for the 15th and final spot in Charlotte.
–Field level media
