A Relieved Will Wade Breaks Down No. 25 Wolfpack's Win

RALEIGH — Just hours after reaching No. 25 on the latest iteration of the AP Poll, NC State men's basketball and head coach Will Wade escaped in a back-and-forth affair against the VCU Rams at the Lenovo Center. The Wolfpack hung to win the game 85-79 and moved to 4-0 on the young season.

Wade scheduled the game as a test against a program that helped get his start as a coach, both as an assistant under Shaka Smart and later, as the head coach of the Rams for two seasons.

The first-year head coach spoke to the media after his team survived the scare, detailing some issues that need to be fixed before the Wolfpack makes the trip to the Maui Invitational during Feast Week.

Watch Wade's Press Conference

Wade's Noteworthy Quotes

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

On the key to closing the game out after VCU was able to cut the lead to three late in the second half

"I thought VCU played great. They're a tremendous team, tremendous program. We were able to make our free throws down the stretch, which was huge. We got a couple of timely turnovers, which helped us. But, give them credit, they played hard. Went to the offensive glass hard. Before the first media, they had four offensive rebounds."

"... It was a good game. Two really good teams and VCU is a great team. They're picked to win the Atlantic 10 for a reason. It was good for us to step up in competition and play a really good team before we head to Maui."

Dynamic Duo 😵‍💫@OfficialDW03 led NC State with 28 points while adding 7 REB & 2 AST. Holloman went 6-12 from the field and finished with 25 points and 4 REB, also knocking down all ten of his free throws@PackMensBball | @PackAthletics | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/gK0XOabzkz
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) November 18, 2025

On utilizing Ven-Allen Lubin and Musa Sagnia down the stretch

"I just thought we needed to be a little bit bigger, particularly on rebounding. I thought that those two gave us the best chance to rebound. We played it with those lineups in practice. We just hadn't played with them much in a game. Sometimes you need different things. Sometimes you need shooting and you put Jerry (Deng) out there."

"Sometimes when you need defense and rebounding, Musa and Ven give us a great chance. Paul (McNeil) didn't make any shots tonight, but he had nine rebounds. Think that's a career high, eight defensive rebounds, so he did some things to contribute, to help us... I thought that Musa and Ven played well out there together. They did exactly what they've done for us in practice, and I thought that was important, and that shows some of the versatility of our team and our lineups."

On handling adversity with officiating after Darrion Williams received the fifth technical foul of the season

"We've had a conversation, but I mean, a lot of that... some of that... I mean, I'm not worried about that. You've got to play with an edge. I'd rather tell them whoa than go. We'll back them off a little bit... (Darrion Williams) made a three tonight, whatever. I'm not worried about that."

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