Breaking Down the Wolfpack's Dominant Performance Against No. 16 UNC

NC State men's basketball recovered from its disappointing loss to Miami on Saturday with one of its more dominant performances of the 2025-26 season, throttling No. 16 North Carolina 82-58 in the Lenovo Center on Tuesday. The Wolfpack jumped on the diminished Tar Heels right away and never let them back into the game, securing State's largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 1962

The victory marked the first for Will Wade over his new rivals, signaling a new era of Wolfpack basketball. It wasn't lost on the Pack's head coach that his opponent was shorthanded, as star freshman Caleb Wilson and standout center Henri Veesaar both sat out with injuries for UNC. The disheveled Tar Heels simply couldn't keep up with a Pack offense that was firing on all cylinders.

𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐒

NC State defeated #11 North Carolina, 82-58, for the largest margin of victory for NC State since 1962. State shot 48% from the field and 45% from 3 while holding the Heels to 32% from the field and 15% from 3@PackMensBball | @PackAthletics | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/enr3ts1xZp
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) February 18, 2026

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett breaks down the Wolfpack's workmanlike performance against North Carolina, diving into some of the key moments that allowed Wade's team to cruise to a comfortable win and stay in the hunt for a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament.

Watch the new episode here

Will Wade's postgame thoughts

Wade was adamant after his team's one-point loss to Miami that its performance in that loss "would not sit right" with him. The Wolfpack got back to work quickly, knowing the Tar Heels were up next. Wade's group was on point from the moment the game got underway, relentlessly attacking a diminished UNC squad that never stood much of a chance against a hungry Wolfpack squad.

"I thought we were playing with more of an edge today. I thought our guys were locked in and ready to go. I felt that the last couple of days," Wade said. "We had a couple of good days of prep, so the guys got off the mat and you talk about how you always have to do your best work under tough circumstances and our guys certainly did that. I thought we played with more bite to us tonight."

😉 pic.twitter.com/kbmRkSsk8A
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) February 18, 2026

The 24-point victory marked the Wolfpack's biggest win over North Carolina since 1962. The Lenovo Center was rocking for the third-straight game, making it imperative for Wade to get his team over the hump after he felt as though he let down the Wolfpack fan base with the effort against the Hurricanes just one game prior. He didn't disappoint.

"I represent NC State, I represent our fan base, I represent our school," Wade said. "If it's important to our fans, it's important to us. It's important to me. You could feel it when you walked into that arena tonight; it was just different. You could just feel it. ... It's my job to try to represent the program and our school and our administration the best we can and I know how much it means to everybody."