NC State Puts Together Their Best Shooting Performance of the Year in 98-88 Win Over Pitt in 2nd Round of ACCT

#7 seed NC State defeated #15 seed Pitt 98-88 in the 2nd round of the 2026 ACC Tournament this afternoon, advancing to play #2 seed Virginia in the Quarterfinals tomorrow at Noon.

The Wolfpack produced their best shooting performance of the season when they desperately needed it, shooting a blistering 60.8% from the field. NC State also made 56.5% from long range, sinking 13 bombs.

Thank goodness NC State had a season-high shooting performance, because Pitt sunk 57.1% of their shots, which is the third-best percentage by an opponent this season.

The Wolfpack had six players score in double figures this afternoon, with Senior Guard Quadir Copeland leading the way with 24 points, making an elite 7 of 10 from the field. Copeland also filled up the stat sheet as usual, chipping in 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Copeland’s 24 points marks the second-most points he has scored this season.

Senior Forward Ven-Allen Lubin, NC State’s leading scorer in the regular season, was next up with 18 points. To the shock of no one, Lubin made 5 of his 6 shots. Lubin led the ACC in field goal percentage during the regular season, making 68.4% of his shots.

Sophomore Guard Paul McNeil Jr. was super efficient, scoring 15 points on 4 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc.

After being held under 10 points for five straight games, Senior Guard Tre Holloman has now scored 10+ points in back-to-back games, finishing with 14 points against Pitt, making 5 of 8 from the field. He also went 3 of 5 from deep.

After dropping 4 points in the regular season finale against Stanford, it was good to see Darrion Williams knock down 4 of his 5 three-point attempts. All 12 of Williams’ points came from three-point range.

Freshman Matt Able came off the bench and contributed 12 points.

The Wolfpack also did a nice job taking care of the basketball, committing only six turnovers, while turning Pitt’s 11 turnovers into 14 points.

After a slow start that allowed Pitt to lead for 13:13, NC State turned it around to lead for 24:52, including the entire second half.

Box Score