How the Wolfpack Will Deal With Seton Hall in Maui

RALEIGH — No. 25 NC State enters the 2025 Southwest Maui Invitational as one of the stronger teams in the eight-team field at the iconic event. With first-year head coach Will Wade at the helm and Darrion Williams looking like one of the best players in the country, the Wolfpack should be a confident bunch when it takes the court at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The first opponent for Wade and NC State is Seton Hall, a Big East program trying to turn things around in the 2025-26 season under coach Shaheen Holloway. The Pirates enter the tournament with a perfect 5-0 start, although they haven't faced the stiffest of competition and sit at 87th in the KenPom rankings.

Heating up in Hawaii 🏀 pic.twitter.com/BPiWoeXEuW
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 23, 2025

However, the Pirates pose some stiff defensive challenges for the Wolfpack and will easily be the best team in that aspect that the Wolfpack will face in the early stages of the season.

Seton Hall's tough defense

When discussing Seton Hall during Thursday's press conference back in Raleigh, the first thing Wade mentioned was the defense of Holloway's group. With a defensive efficiency rating of 98.3, the Pirates are the 25th best defense in the country according to KenPom. As for how they get it done on that end, Wade shared the simple answer.

"(Holloway) was a tough pit bull of a guard, a pitt bull of a player," Wade said. "And his team takes on that personality. He's got guards that can hawk the ball. Got bigs back there that can block shots and affect shots at the rim."

Settling in at the Civic Center 🏝️ pic.twitter.com/PxKhxXBxBP
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 22, 2025

In their 5-0 start, Seton Hall's opponents turned the ball over 17.2 times per game, one of the best numbers in the nation for a defense. The Wolfpack has been all over the map with turnovers, giving the ball away just four times against UNC Greensboro and 17 times in the narrow victory over a vastly superior VCU team when compared to UNCG.

"We get sped up and turn the ball over against the press," Wade said. "Those are areas that we certainly need to be much cleaner Monday morning in Hawaii."

Lacking a go-to scorer

While they are a much better defensive team than the Wolfpack has faced to this point, the Pirates don't profile as an elite scoring unit. The team leader in scoring, Elon transfer Tajuan Simpkins, averaged just 13.2 points in the opening stretch. He is one of the two players on the team averaging over 10 points, meaning the Pirates get things done by committee.

The Wolfpack might be able to overmatch Seton Hall with its abundance of depth at the guard position, as all four of the top guards for NC State can score in a hurry.

Adam Clark leads Seton Hall in usage, but has been one of the more inefficient performers for the Pirates. The undersized junior guard (5-foot-10) shot just 37.1% from the field in the first five games despite handling the ball on 24.5% of Seton Hall's possessions.

Final word

N.C. State basketball coach Will Wade during a press conference after the Wolfpack's win vs. UNC Greensboro on Nov. 12, 2025. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NC State's offense, if on point, has the talent to overpower the Pirates. The Wolfpack showed it could break pressure with ease when executing at a high level against VCU, but mental lapses late in the game allowed the Rams to stay in the fight.

So long as the Wolfpack limits the turnovers, it should advance to the second round with some serious momentum. If not, it could be a long three days for NC State on the island.

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