Will Wade Gives Blunt Assessment of No. 11 Virginia After Blowout Loss to Cavaliers

"They're just flat better than us."

NC State coach Will Wade gave a blunt assessment of Virginia after the blowout loss at the hands of the Cavaliers. | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

No. 11 Virginia rolled over NC State in Charlottesville on Tuesday night, smoking the Wolfpack 90–61. 

The Cavaliers led by 13 at halftime and scored 58 second-half points while shooting 53% from the field on the night. NC State has now dropped both matchups against Virginia this season.

Wolfpack coach Will Wade has never been at a loss of words with the media, and Tuesday night was no different as he sat at the podium to assess what just happened to his club.

“Virginia can go to the Final Four,” Wade began. “They’re a good team. Crowd was in here great tonight. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. They’re the third-best offensive rebounding team in the country. This is a really, really good team and they steamrolled us. They’re better than we are. If we played them 10 times I’m not sure we could beat them. Maybe once if we get lucky on a neutral court. They’re just flat better than us…they’re better coached. Odom has done a much better job than I have. They’re better than us from the bench to their team. They’re better than us. I don’t know how else I can put it any more simply than that.”

"They steamrolled us... if we played them ten times I'm not sure we could beat them. Maybe once if we get lucky on a neutral court."

Will Wade DID NOT hold back following NC State's second loss to #UVA pic.twitter.com/m4UaOOaNec

— Izzie Begley (@izbegley) February 25, 2026

The Wolfpack fell to 19–9 and 10–5 in the ACC in Wade’s first season at the helm, while Virginia improved to an impressive 25–3, which includes a 13–2 mark in the ACC in Ryan Odom’s first-year. The future is very bright for both programs with these two coaches leading them, but it’s clear that Virginia is operating on a different level right now than NC State.

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