Answering the NCAA Tournament Question for the Wolfpack

NC State men's basketball finds itself in a bit of a precarious situation. The Wolfpack went cold at the wrong time of year, losing five of its last six games over the last three weeks, recently capped off by a loss to No. 1 Duke in the Lenovo Center on Monday. While the Pack is in a less-than-ideal position, the panic button isn't quite yet necessary.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett breaks down why the Wolfpack is still an NCAA Tournament team despite the cold stretch, while also discussing what needs to happen for Will Wade's team to secure a firm position in the field of 68 teams before Selection Sunday in a couple of weeks.

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Why Wade is still confident

Feb 28, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade claps against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

The gravity of the Stanford game is indeed much larger, as Wade indicated. The Wolfpack holds a 4-8 record in Quadrant 1 matchups, which isn't a problematic record. The issue comes in the lower "weight class," as Wade called it, against teams in Quadrants 2 and 3. Adding to that list, falling to a tough Stanford team would put the season on the brink heading into the ACC Tournament.

"We don't want to lose Saturday. I think it'll get a lot trickier then," Wade said. "We've got four Quad 1 wins, but some of our losses have been pretty loud, but it's still a loss and our numbers are pretty good."

Wade likened the Wolfpack's season to a game of golf. With spring nearly in bloom as the calendar flips to March, his comparison made sense and came at a time when it felt right. No one knows this Wolfpack team better than Wade, even when he says he doesn't have a read on the group whatsoever regarding some of the losses.

"We've missed some three-foot putts," Wade said. "When you miss three-foot putts and then you try to make up for it on 30-footers, it's hard to do. Our margins are pretty thin right now. We can't punch in the heavyweights right now, but the middleweights and the lightweights, we've let them knock us around a little bit too ... We're not there right now and we've got to get there."

Mar 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) reacts after scoring against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

NC State gets back into the action on Saturday, hosting Stanford in Raleigh for the regular-season finale. With a win, the Wolfpack is likely firmly in the mix for a nine or 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament. A loss creates tremendous pressure ahead of the ACC Tournament.

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