NC State Falls at Home Once Again

RALEIGH — After a week of waiting to take the court once again, NC State men’s basketball did not put its best foot forward against one of the worst teams in the ACC. The Wolfpack (12-6, 3-2 ACC) fell to Georgia Tech 78-74 in front of the home crowd at the Lenovo Center.

The Pack led the Yellow Jackets (11-8, 2-4 ACC) at the half, but a dominant shooting performance down the stretch helped the away team sink Will Wade’s Wolfpack. NC State had its chances to pull off a late comeback, but couldn’t knock down enough shots to make it happen.

Another slow start at home

One of the main tendencies that helped NC State storm through a pair of games on the road against Boston College and Florida State was starting both of those games quickly. It was a point of emphasis after the team dug itself into a large hole in the home loss to Virginia before the road trip. With the same start time and situation his team faced against the Cavaliers, Wade had concerns about his team’s ability to start games quickly once again.

His concern proved to be correct, as the Wolfpack came out ice cold shooting the basketball, despite a flurry of early turnovers from the giveaway-prone Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech showed it could be dangerous when it started games well, taking Duke to the brink at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier in the ACC campaign. The Pack shot 12-of-31 in the opening half, heating up near the end of the frame.

Georgia Tech worked its way to an eight-point advantage late in the second half, but the Wolfpack started to find a spark. Some chippiness ensued as NC State ratcheted up the defensive intensity to slow down and frustrate the Yellow Jackets. To no one’s surprise, Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland was in the center of a scuffle that ended with the home team securing possession via jump ball.

With the shot clock and game clock nearly aligned, the Pack tried to get into a set. Freshman guard Matt Able and senior Alyn Breed weren’t in the right spots, disrupting Wade’s playcall. Eventually, Copeland took matters into his own hands, spinning through the lane and finishing with one of his patented acrobatic layups to put NC State up 35-34 after the ugly start.

A gritty battle

Jan 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Lamar Washington (1) dribbles with the ball guarded by NC State Wolfpack guard Terrance Arceneaux (21) during the first half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Wade knew what the Wolfpack was getting into against this gritty Georgia Tech team. The Yellow Jackets dared NC State’s poorer 3-point shooters to take shots, while cutting off passing lanes and creating chaos when it was time to drive. The Pack had to find other ways to generate offense, especially with Georgia Tech giving the ball away at such a high rate.

The physicality of the game escalated as the afternoon moved along. The chippiness of the first half carried into the second. Georgia Tech attacked relentlessly after its own 3-point shooting and outside scoring ability started to slip. Ven-Allen Lubin was a key contributor, going to battle with talented Yellow Jacket big man Baye Ndongo inside. The officiating didn’t remain consistent, as the whistles picked up in the second half, especially in the paint.

Not game day unless Diesel shakes the rim. pic.twitter.com/Dv5I5DlNvK
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 17, 2026

Because of the abundance of turnovers for Georgia Tech, NC State needed to capitalize as frequently as possible. It finished the game with 20 points on 17 Yellow Jacket turnovers. The Wolfpack gave it away seven times. However, every time the Pack appeared to be pulling away, Damon Stoudamire’s team seemed to have a response. The Wolfpack pushed the lead to eight points just before the under-12 media timeout, but Georgia Tech quickly cut it back down to three.

Lubin continued to thrive in the physical battle, coming up with a handful of key blocked shots, particularly down the stretch. The veteran forward finished the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

The danger zone

Frame it. https://t.co/oDtWpNq7rq pic.twitter.com/Fcl3ndkzOC
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 17, 2026

Georgia Tech’s ability to keep things close eventually manifested some tightness on the offensive end for the Wolfpack. As the Yellow Jackets continued to shoot the ball well throughout the second half, NC State went cold for a stretch of longer than two minutes. That allowed the away side to jump in front with a six-point lead as a dysfunctional Wolfpack offense was simply treading water each time it came down the court.

Stoudamire’s team shot 52% in the second half, while NC State shot just 37%. The scoring issues were amplified by the fact that Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil couldn’t get any shots to fall. Yellow Jacket freshman Akai Fleming had one of the best performances of his young career, scoring 16 points as his team pushed for the surprising upset.

McNeil suddenly found his stroke, burying a pair of triples to make the score 68-64. As the clock wound down, the Wolfpack showed greater urgency on the defensive end, with Lubin leading the charge. However, it couldn’t match that intensity on the other end, as the shots simply weren’t falling. Eventually, Kowacie Reeves Jr. nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end any hopes of a comeback.

Final word

All of Wade’s concerns from throughout the week came to be. NC State started slowly and did not have the urgency it showed on the road. Just three players scored more than 10 points in the return to the Lenovo Center, marking the second-straight ugly offensive outing for the Wolfpack in that building. The Wolfpack missed nine free throws, including some crucial misses down the stretch.

Georgia Tech is likely to be the Wolfpack’s final Quadrant-3 opponent in the 2025-26 season, so the schedule only gets tougher from this point. The Pack will try to regain some confidence and rhythm before another road trip to face No. 22 Clemson on Tuesday night.

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