Inside NC State’s Locker Room After Pitt Win

CHARLOTTE — NC State got its 2026 ACC Tournament journey started with a win, beating Pitt 98-88 to secure a trip to the quarterfinals. It was a high-scoring battle, but the Wolfpack surged in the second half on the offensive end and came up with timely stops, sending the Panthers packing after they won their first-round matchup over Stanford.

While the Pack's win lifted enormous pressure for the rest of the ACC Tournament regarding résumé improvement, the team still feels as though there's work to be done in Charlotte before heading back to the City of Oaks for Selection Sunday. Find out what some of the stars of Wednesday's win had to say in the locker room following the 10-point win.

Quadir Copeland is hungry for more

Senior guard Quadir Copeland wasn't going to let his team lose to the Panthers on Wednesday. He worked his way to 24 points and eight assists, acting as the star of the show in the Wolfpack's victory. While he was aware of the meaning of a win likely securing a bid in the NCAA Tournament for NC State, he's not ready to let go of the edge he and his team played with on Wednesday.

"I don't even think it's all the way in our hands yet," Copeland said. "I don't want to think like that and I don't want the guys to think like that. We're focusing on the moment now. We want to be ACC champs before we want to be national champs. That's the goal. That's the focus and we're still hungry. ... We want to get wins more than just locking in the bid."

Quadir Copeland is a one-man highlight reel! 📽️

📺 ESPN2 x @PackMensBball pic.twitter.com/tNYYGTIZJo
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 11, 2026

A major trend in the Wolfpack's ugly final stretch in the ACC regular season was its inability to close out games. It found a way to get that done against the Panthers in Charlotte, with Copeland playing a major part in slamming the door and advancing further in the tournament.

"Staying composed, trusting each other and having the right guys out there," Copeland said. "Just staying calm, making our free throws, being in the right spots also. Trusting people. I feel like we were getting into situations where we weren't trusting each other all the way. I don't feel like we're going to have that problem anymore."

Tre Holloman leans on tournament experience

A major part of the Wolfpack's roster-building strategy was finding players with loads of tournament experience. Senior guard Tre Holloman arrived from Michigan State with a wealth of experience in the postseason over his first three seasons with the Spartans. He channeled some of that knowledge against the Panthers, scoring 14 points in the victory.

"That was the talk all week, to just get the win," Holloman said. "Move on, reset and make the next play. (Pitt) killed us on the board in the last game, so we wanted to take care of that, take care of the turnovers and play as a team."

With Virginia on deck in the quarterfinals, Holloman had to address the elephant in the room: the Wolfpack has yet to beat the Cavaliers in two tries during the 2025-26 season. The senior guard still believes his team can reach another level and offered his thoughts on what needs to happen to stun the 'Hoos.

"Play-by-play, man," Holloman said. "Every possession matters. Every rebound, every loose ball matters. Hustle plays are what it's going to come down to."

Darrion Williams wants another chance against Virginia

While senior forward Darrion Williams didn't fully unlock his full potential against the Panthers, he took steps in the right direction, scoring 12 points while making four 3-pointers in his minutes. His shot-making helped NC State down the stretch, as Copeland found him home-free on a couple of big possessions. Now, Williams just wants another shot at Virginia.

"We've just got to play harder and play disciplined to our game plan," Williams said. "I think we've been close to them, but throughout the wash of the game, they did what they did and we just kind of fed into how they wanted to play."

Paul McNeil living in the moment

After missing out on the ACC Tournament in his freshman season, Paul McNeil is finally getting a shot to win games against the best of the best in the league under the bright lights. He shot the ball well against the Panthers, scoring 15 points for the Wolfpack.

"God blessed me with this opportunity to do this," McNeil said. "I never thought I'd be in a situation like last year, knowing who was coming in and it's kind of happening. That's what it's about. We've got to win games and we've got to hit shots."

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