WOLFERETTI: A little level setting after that roller coaster stretch that saw a win of 24 and losses of 29 and 41

I needed a couple of days after this roller coaster ride we’ve been on the past 2 weeks.

A 40+ point drubbing in Louisville, a one-point heartbreaking collapse vs Miami, a 24-point beat down of rival UNC, and a 29-point beat down at the hands of Virginia.

Honestly, it’s certainly not apathy. Not at all. In fact the most likely outcome for the rest of the year has NC State finishing 4th in the ACC. That’s got me excited.

It’s more the unpredictability, which is exhausting.

The highs are high, but man, the lows are low. But here’s the silver lining: NC State still only has one bad loss. They are 8-1 in Quad 3 and 4 games, with that only loss being at Georgia Tech.

However, I think the fact that NC State hasn’t really beaten a big-name team at full strength has fans unsure of this team’s ceiling. Have we already seen it, or is there more to go?

It kind of comes down to this being a matter of perspective. Our Quad 1 wins are against SMU, Clemson, Wake Forest, and UNC (without their top 2 players).

SMU, Clemson, and Wake are great wins, but honestly, as Wolfpack fans, we expect to beat these teams. The UNC win is amazing, but there’s still the fact that we won without their two best players on the floor.

Our ability to judge what we have is tough. The metrics say we’re Top-30, but the team on the floor just looks so volatile and erratic. Some days we look like world beaters, and some days we look like we don’t have a chance.

But you have to consider that things would be different with a few bounces of the ball.

If NC State had beaten Kansas at home, the whole season would have felt different. Kansas is a blue-blood. A top-15 team with a Hall of Fame head coach. Add that to the resume, and everything is different. Heck, even if they secured that Miami win, we’d be looking at NC State in 3rd place in the conference right now, which would hae completely shifted perspective.  Do those things and don’t drop the GT game? Well, shoot, now we’re in Red Reckoning territory!

I think it’s important to step back and realize where we are.

This was a team that didn’t make the ACC Tournament last year and may end up Top-4 in the conference with a new staff and an almost entirely new roster. That’s pretty darn impressive.

I think what you’re seeing is a roster that has some holes, and Wade has said that publically. They had a few misses, and he vowed that won’t happen next year with more time to prepare and NIL more stable. But you’re seeing a staff that is working their tails off to keep plugging all these holes on the fly.

We released a whole piece about this last month…

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: How Will Wade has navigated complex roster issues to put NC State in ACC contention.

We take a closer look at the levers this staff has pulled to get the Wolfpack clicking, just in time for the ACC gauntlet.

Read it⬇️
https://t.co/ttJQYdUd9n

— PackInsider.com (@PackInsider) January 29, 2026

This all leaves me wondering, “What do you do if you’re Will Wade?”

Do you just keep doing what you’re doing? You are 4th in the ACC and on track for a double-bye if you can take care of business. Or do you rework some things and try to break through this ceiling that’s been established?

First off, NC State has only had their doors blown off 3 times. UVA twice and at Louisville. The only other loss that wasn’t close was Seton Hall.

Mark the Louisville game down to insane shooting. They scored 118 points and shot a stupid 60% from 3 while NC State was ice cold at 18%.

But UVA and Seton Hall are similar. Both teams are very physical and have an elite rim protector. Actually, UVA has 2 guys in the Top-5 in blocks in the ACC.

That kills NC State who has a 6’8 strong, but pretty anchored to the floor big man in Lubin. Their 4 guy, Williams, is 6’6.  NC State is big at guard, but small inside. When they face these rugged, tall, strong teams, they will struggle.

My point is, NC State isn’t built to beat those types of teams, and they’ve proven they can’t really compete against them. As we head into tournament time, they can either just accept that fate or throw in some wrinkles to try to catch a team like that off guard.

Against teams like Notre Dame and Stanford, you continue to do what you’ve been doing, and honestly, even Duke. I know Duke is elite, but I actually like how NC State matches up against them.

However, if NC State is going to make a March run, they’ll need to figure out how to deal with defensive teams that have length, height and strength in the middle.

What do you guys think?