Despite Big Win, Wade Thinks Wolfpack Has Another Gear

RALEIGH — NC State throttled the Liberty Flames in Wednesday's showdown at the Lenovo Center, winning 85-45 and moving to 7-3 on the season. While the Wolfpack showed improved effort in the win, head coach Will Wade still believes his team has a long way to go.

Liberty's 45 points marked the fewest scored by a Wolfpack opponent since NC State's 79-34 win over Jacksonville in 2014. However, Wade has lofty standards and his team has not reached them. While the bar was low according to the first-year coach, his team did perform better than it had during its two-week skid at the end of November.

Wade's thoughts on the win

Dec 6, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade looks on before the first half of the game against UNC Asheville Bulldogs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Before the season, Wade made some bold proclamations about his team's readiness to perform at a high level and potentially disrupt not just the power structure of ACC basketball, but the national hierarchy as well. Things got off track when the team lost three games in a week-long span, but the performance against Liberty looked more like what Wade wants from his group. The Pack still isn't there yet, though.

"No, it's closer, but it's not where we need to be," he said. " But it was closer. I mean, everybody's so shocked because we hadn't looked anywhere close to that all year... We've got to get a lot better here over the break. Typically, we've been able to get better when we don't have academics and having the gym, we don't have time limits and that sort of thing."

NC State defense — Dec 6, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Liberty Flames guard Colin Porter (0) with the ball guarded by NC State Wolfpack guard Jr. Paul McNeil (2) during the second half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

During the difficult stretch, Wade and his staff's defensive strategy became a hot-button issue for Wolfpack fans, as the group struggled to prevent teams from making 3-pointers and even got blitzed inside on a couple of occasions. The NC State coach debunked some of the theories about those issues after the Wolfpack held one of the nation's best 3-point shooting teams to 45 points.

"The offense helps the defense. We've put our defense in some bad spots with some of the terrible shots we take," Wade said. "We have the wrong lineups out there sometimes. So we've put our defense in some horrific spots. It's not all on the defense. We can't guard in transition 25 times a game... Part of it is controlling the offense, too."

Tre Holloman and Darrion Williams — Dec 6, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) celebrates a 3-point shot over Liberty Flames forward Josh Smith (12) during the second half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Liberty came into the game shooting a blistering 42% from 3-point range. The Flames shot just 6-of-28 from beyond the arc against the Wolfpack. Wade's team knew Liberty wanted to shoot threes at a higher clip than most opponents, but also played a more deliberate pace. The Pack disrupted both of those goals for the Flames.

"I think we sped them up. They're very based on rhythm and pace and we had them sped up," Wade said. "We gave up a couple of the flare slips; they slipped us to the rim a couple times, but we didn't give up a ton of the pin-in threes. When (Kaden) Metheny hit that step back in front of our bench to make it six to six, I was like, 'Oh, here we go.' But we dug in and threw off their rhythm."

From an effort and activity standpoint, it was one of the stronger performances of the season by the Wolfpack. However, Wade thinks his team has set the bar far too low than what it is actually capable of.

"It's probably the best. But that's not... It's not a very high bar to clear to be the best effort game for us," the coach said. "... It's not a very high bar to clear, but it's up there... It's getting better, but it's nowhere near where it needs to be. Everything looks so shocking tonight because it's like, 'Oh my God,' but that's what it should look like every night and then we should be able to build from there."

Dec 6, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Liberty Flames head coach Ritchie McKay looks on during the first half of the game against the NC State Wolfpack at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

As for Liberty's performance, Wade knew that a few missed threes early in the game, coupled with the relentless pressure, caused things to snowball for the Flames. However, he was very complimentary of the work Ritchie McKay has done with that program, having now played them at every stop Wade has coached at.

"They missed a couple open threes at the beginning... You know, if they hit those, it could be a different game," Wade said. " They're gonna win Conference USA. They're gonna win 25-plus games again."

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