In-Depth Review of NC State's Loss to Georgia Tech

NC State men's basketball suffered its first resumé-hurting loss on Saturday, falling to Georgia Tech in the Lenovo Center. The Yellow Jackets survived after trailing by as many as eight points, going on beat the Wolfpack 78-74 in its home building, sinking the Pack's hopes for a major run through the ACC.

Throughout the game, it looked like NC State might pull away, but Damon Stoudamire's side hung around long enough to make things interesting. Eventually, the NC State offense completely collapsed, allowing Georgia Tech to pull away as it shot with great efficiency. Kowacie Reeves Jr. outplayed the Wolfpack by himself, scoring 21 points.

Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade looks on during the first half of the game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

The loss marked a new low for the Wolfpack's lacking consistency, as the team reverted to many of the primary issues it dealt with during the non-conference push. The defense failed to contain straight-line drives and limit the 3-point shots from the corner, both of which proved fatal in the final minutes of the loss.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett breaks down the basics of the game, providing some context on what exactly went wrong for Will Wade's Wolfpack as it slipped to 12-6 in his first season as the coach.

Watch the episode here

What Will Wade said after the loss

After the Wolfpack went on the road and showed improvement on both sides of the court, things looked to be improving. NC State throttled Florida State on its home court a week before the disappointing loss to Georgia Tech. While the team enjoyed the time away, as a scheduling quirk gave the Pack an early bye week, Wade stirred over a Yellow Jacket team he knew was better than its record.

"I was worried all week. I was about the only one on the team that was worried," Wade said. "...It was the same spot Florida State was in last week and we didn't handle it well. We did our (scrimmage) on Tuesday and we did the start of the game and I had to restart the game on Tuesday because we couldn't start well against our scout team, so that's problematic and that carries over."

Will Wade after a 78-74 loss to GA Tech who was 162 in the net. "Lose a home game like this it's hard to recover from....the best part of our resume was we didn't have any bad stuff on it....now the best part of our resume is blemished." #NCState pic.twitter.com/pS93GE3fP6
— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) January 17, 2026

Outside of the opening four-game win streak, NC State hasn't shown much consistency from week to week. The team only lost two games in a row once, falling to Texas and Auburn, but it hasn't won more than three in a row. Wade's teams of the past have ripped off multiple lengthy winning streaks every season. It doesn't appear as though that sort of stretch is coming for his first Wolfpack team.

"We're going to have to grit it out as best we can," he said. "This is not a team that's like a rocket ship that's just going to shoot up. We're going to kind of level off and go by. That's just kind of how it's been and I didn't anticipate that and I haven't done a good enough job of getting us to be able to take off."

Want more NC State basketball content throughout the year? Follow @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker on X (Twitter) and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE