Bold Reactions to No. 25 NC State's Win Over VCU
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No. 25 NC State survived a major test against a gritty VCU Rams team that came into the Lenovo Center with goals of derailing the perfect start for Will Wade and the Wolfpack. Behind strong shooting outings from Darrion Williams and Tre Holloman, the Wolfpack outlasted the Rams 85-79.
With the Maui Invitational and more Quad-One games coming on the schedule, it was important for the Wolfpack to be in a more competitive game compared to the first three wins of the season. Wade emphasized that his team is steadily building toward playing consistently high-end opponents and that this was one of the final steps in that process.
Turned all the way up. 🔊
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 18, 2025
Moment of the game presented by @Lenovo pic.twitter.com/RhQqlRt6H0
On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, get the immediate reaction and inside information on the game from host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett, who was in the building for all of the action Monday night.
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Wade's Postgame Thoughts
Wade claimed his team was fortunate to win the game against the Rams, but added that his team needed to be thrown into the fire a little bit. The first-year coach spoke about playing his old program and the Wolfpack's performance in the game.
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."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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