March 7, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Thies De Ridder (28) drives to the basket while Virginia Tech Hokies forward Toby Lawal (1) defends during the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Image Now might be a good time for North Carolina to get a little greedy.
The seventh-seeded Wolfpack won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed and No. 10 Virginia on Thursday afternoon.
Virginia beat NC State twice during the regular season, 76-61 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and 90-61 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sam Lewis scored a total of 39 points in those two games for the Cavaliers.
“We got our doors blown off twice by Virginia,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “We’ve got to see if we can play better and make games. … We’ve got to find a way to stay there and see what we can do, but we were outplayed both times.”
Virginia (27-4) has lost just two games since the calendar turned to 2026, but its two most recent results were a lopsided loss to first-place Duke followed by narrow home escapes against Wake Forest (75-70) and Virginia Tech (76-72).
Thursday’s contest will mark Virginia coach Ryan Odom’s ACC tournament debut.
N.C. State’s 98-88 win over Pitt in the second round on Wednesday gave Wade, in his first game as head coach in the ACC Tournament, his first postseason win with the Wolfpack (20-12). Six Wolfpack players scored in double figures, led by Quadir Copeland with 24 points.
“I had teammates that trusted me and we just went with it,” Copeland said. “It allowed our teammates to take more shots and we hit some 3-pointers.”
The Cavaliers are just 3-15 all-time in ACC Tournament meetings with NC State.
Wade said NC State’s offense faced major problems when it faced Virginia earlier this season.
“They blocked our shots tremendously in both games,” he said.
A four-game losing streak in the Pitt game should make NC State’s status for at-large NCAA Tournament consideration much more solid. Taking down a top-10 team on a neutral court could do wonders for the Wolfpack.
“We’re not going to take anything for granted,” Wade said. “We’re going to give it our all to see if we can find a way to attack Virginia.”
In Odom’s coaching career, he has reached 28 wins in a season only once, in 2024-25 with Virginia Commonwealth.
He has called for a calculated approach to games this season.
“You’re not going to win the game in the first five minutes or the first 10 minutes,” Odom said.
Virginia is led by All-ACC first-team selection Thijs De Ridder, who is averaging 15.9 points, 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 51.3 percent from the field. Teammate Ugonna Onyenso was named to the All-ACC defensive team.
The Cavaliers may not be loaded with superstars, but the team as a whole has made progress.
“There will be a common theme throughout the season of sacrifice,” Odom said. “The members of this team have done an incredible job, sacrificing some of themselves for the greater good of the team.”
This will be Virginia’s second game of the season at the Spectrum Center, with the Cavaliers defeating Dayton in December.
–Field level media
