WOLFERETTI: If NC State was going to make a run in March, this was the how the opening game would go

Ok, that’s the type of opening-round performance I was hoping for.

NC State took down Pitt in the second round of the ACC Tournament, 98–88, and now moves on to face #2 Virginia in the quarterfinals.

After closing the regular season on a four-game losing streak, there were real questions about whether this team had packed it in. That question got answered today. The Pack came out playing hard, and while the defense is still a real concern (Pitt shot a season-high 57% from the floor), their toughness on the boards and offensive firepower carried the day.

Remember, Pitt absolutely murdered State on the glass in the first meeting (52–31). Today, the Pack kept that much closer, losing the rebounding battle by just one, 23–22. Honestly, NC State’s best rebounding tactic was simply making shots. They shot a season-high 60.8% from the floor and an absurd 56.5% from three.

This team’s best path to making any kind of March run is getting hot at the right time, and so far, they’re off to a pretty great start.

This win also almost guarantees that NC State will be dancing come Selection Sunday. They’ll likely get a 9 or a 10 seed right now, but a win over UVA tomorrow could completely alter the narrative and move the Pack back up to a 7 or 8.

Now, let’s talk about this game…

First off, let’s focus on the guy we never focus on. Ven-Allen Lubin. 

I know everyone wants to start with Quadir Copeland, and man, was he good, but we need to gas up VAL a little bit. This guy is just so freaking consistent. He finished 5-6 for 18 points and 5 rebounds and 8-8 from the line. NC State would be lost without him, and it really begs the question of why they don’t feed him more.

Look, I know he’s undersized and all, but he led this team in points this season and he did that while shooting 34 less shots than Q and 125 less shots than Darrion. The guy is a model of efficiency and I wouldn’t mind seeing how much you can get out of him by upping his volume a little bit.

Ok, now we can talk about Q. 

Good Lord. Quadir Copeland was on one today. This is a guy who was built for the bright lights of March. He finished with his second-best scoring game of the year, logging 24 points.He also dished out 8 assists and had 4 rebounds. Sure, he did turn it over 5 times, but I think it’s time to just accept the reality. We go as Q goes and today he was going.

I thought Copeland’s body language and playing style was great. Way less trying to be cute and crafty and a lot more straight to the rim, match my athleticism, type drives from the senior. He wasn’t being denied in the paint, and that helped the Pack out a lot.

His 36% usage rate might limit Darrion’s value, but at this point, I’m starting to believe Q’s high usage is simply a byproduct of Williams production.

Speaking of Darrion WIlliams.

Maybe Darrion Williams, without JT Toppin (Texas Tech star) shouldn’t have a high 20’s usage rate. In fact, Darrion was hurting the Wolfpack early by trying to get going with some forced points in the paint, but didn’t draw rim on his first two tries. He backed off, and NC State was better for it. Williams finally settled into a role player role today, and look at that, once he did, things started coming naturally to him. After starting 0-2, he finished 4-6, with all 4 makes coming from 3-point range. All of those were open kickouts. No forced or contested 3s. Open kick outs. Darrion Williams not forcing the issue or trying to do too much; that’s actually the best Darrion. And I wonder if he’s finally accepted that fact, because he looked in sync today.z

Paul McNeil was on fire

NC State needs big-time outings from Paul McNeil Jr if they are going to make a run. They got that today as he went 4-6 from the floor and 3-5 from 3pt range and just kept Pitt constantly moving, trying to bottle him up.

Even when they did, State had Matt Able and Tre Holloman slotting in to provide instant offense. Both guys combined for 26 points on 5-12 shooting from 3.

Next up is Virginia.
I hate the matchup with Virginia, but you either have to go through them or Duke, so I guess I’d rather take the team we’ve seen twice already.

Did this game get NC State to believe? Did this start another deep tournament run?

UVA is big, strong, and plays with a ton of discipline. They are the anti-NC State, but this is March, and lately, NC State plays its best basketball during this time of year.

The Wolfpack hasn’t lost an ACC Tournament game since March 9th, 2023.