Moore Left With Questions About His Wolfpack After Duke Loss

DURHAM, N.C. — It's been a season full of disappointments for NC State coach Wes Moore and the women's basketball program. The team's 83-65 loss against No. 9 Duke exposed many of his group's flaws and once again caused him great frustration during the action. However, the gap between the Wolfpack and the Blue Devils left Moore quoting former NFL coach Dennis Green.

"They are who we thought they are," Moore said, referencing Green's viral rant from 2006, when he coached the Arizona Cardinals.

The loss dropped the Pack to 17-9 on the season, with the program already beyond the six total losses it suffered during the 2024-25 campaign. As for describing his team, the fight of lack weighed heavily on Moore's mind.

Getting more effort

Wes moor — Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore in action against the Southern California Trojans during the fourth quarter of the Ally Tipoff game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

After several of the Wolfpack's earlier losses, Moore explained that his team's attention to detail in the scouting process was not always up to the level that it needed to be. Before arriving in Durham to face the Blue Devils, rebounding was at the top of the points of emphasis list drawn up by the Wolfpack coaching staff. NC State came up with just 25 rebounds to Duke's 41.

"We came over here knowing they're a great rebounding team and transition (defense) and rebounding were at the top of my list of the things we were going to control," Moore said. "They're a great rebounding team. We knew it was going to be a challenge and we didn't get it done. ... Their point guard (Taina Mair) had more rebounds than both our starting post players, so right there, that's a scary sign."

All about effort 👏🏼

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/wvSB4aZjFS
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) February 20, 2026

Moore was asked about the effort of Khamil Pierre, his star junior forward who scored 24 points and, at times, acted as the only offensive option for a floundering Wolfpack squad on that end of the court. While he was pleased with her performance, the effort level from his team as a whole is what concerned him most.

"I think our whole team can play harder, I'll be honest," he said. "This is crunch time and this is a tough time, because we're not quite in March yet and we've been going a long time. February is what I call the dog days of the season and then when you hit March -- but we can't wait until March. We're in a dogfight to try to get the double bye and right now, we're behind it."

Mar 27, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore talks with media during an NCAA Tournament practice session at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

These are uncharted waters for Moore as of late. NC State won 28 or more games in three of the four seasons since the shortened 2020-21 campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. At times against Duke, it appeared as though one of the ACC's best coaches simply couldn't get through to his players. He revealed that to be the case after the loss.

"We went one-on-one too much," Moore said. "We were doing that early in the year. I thought we'd gotten away from it, but these last couple of games, they both played good defense and we settled. There was a stretch there in the first half where I said next person that takes a fadeaway, you're coming out... That's just not the shot you want. You want to be aggressive."

Just two years removed from a run to the Final Four, the ceiling seems much lower for this version of Moore's Wolfpack. When asked about the tenability of such a thin roster, he joked, asking a reporter if they would donate to the team's NIL fund. While the competitive drive still exists for Moore, the 2025-26 season is starting to wade into some waters where it looks more like a developmental year than anything else.

Stranger things have happened in college basketball, however. Moore and the Wolfpack are back in action in a must-win game for the double bye against Syracuse on Sunday. He'll try to have his team ready to respond to such a disappointing result.

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