NC State Fixes Major Issue in Win Over Syracuse

RALEIGH — In NC State's win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Wolfpack was dominated in the rebounding category. The Panthers outrebounded Will Wade's team 52 to 35, including 26 offensive rebounds. That was unacceptable for Wade, who has admitted that he didn't expect the Wolfpack to be a strong team on the glass, but also knows winning with that kind of rebounding disadvantage isn't sustainable.

With a short turnaround between that performance and Tuesday's matchup against Syracuse, NC State didn't have a ton of time to correct the rebounding issues. Still, the Pack found a way to make some major changes and controlled the boards against the Orange, outrebounding the away team 45-33 in the victory.

How the Wolfpack fixed the rebounding issues

Jan 27, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) reaches for the ball guarded by Syracuse Orange forward Donnie Freeman (1) during the first half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Wade was not pleased by his team's rebounding after the win over Pittsburgh. Effort level was a major issue early in the game, something he pointed out in his postgame radio interview. However, there was a basketball aspect to things that contributed to some of those issues against the Panthers as well.

"It started from the beginning of the game. We didn't set the tone very well... and we just did a poor job," Wade said Saturday. "They got us on some cross-matches and we didn't rebound down. Our guards were supposed to rebound down. Our guards didn't rebound down. We didn't have nearly enough guard defensive rebounds."

Jan 24, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade reacts on the court against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

When the halftime buzzer sounded on Tuesday, Syracuse held a slight rebounding advantage over the Wolfpack, leading that battle 18-16. NC State needed to turn things around or risk suffering a similar situation to the one it persevered through in the win over Pitt. The team corrected the course, with the guards doing a brunt of the work in the second half on the glass.

Bench guards Matt Able and Terrance Arceneaux each tallied seven rebounds, while starting guard Tre Holloman chipped in another seven boards. The 21 rebounds from the guards showed a more unified front when it came to rebounding, as forward Ven-Allen Lubin cleared space for them to secure the ball, while also lassoing nine boards on his own.

"It was better. Our guards rebounded down better," Wade said. "Matt getting six defensive rebounds was huge. Darrion (Williams) had some big rebounds. Terrance... played 15, 16 minutes tonight. Terrance made a huge impact for us on both ends... Our defensive rebounding was better, but it's something we're going to have to get fixed."

As for the coaching NC State received after the Pitt game, Quadir Copeland joked after the Syracuse game that the media knows how Wade gets after performances like that. The team dealt with a unique situation with the adverse weather conditions sweeping throughout the United States. Compliance officers and team representatives put the Wolfpack in a hotel for two days, so the team worked on correcting the rebounding issues in a hotel ballroom on Sunday, according to Wade.

"I shouldn't have to tell you too much... (Syracuse has) real athletic guys, so he definitely was really on that," Copeland said. "That was an emphasis on this game; we've got to just rebound. It wasn't really just rebounding. It was being tougher than the other team. If you're tougher than the other team, you're not even going to let them go get the ball."

Making up for turnovers

NC State proved itself as one of the best teams in terms of turnover margin in the ACC throughout the first few weeks, but the Orange took care of the ball effectively for most of the game. The Wolfpack had 11 giveaways, tying Syracuse in the game. However, Wade's group made up for not winning the turnover margin by creating extra possessions elsewhere.

"15 offensive rebounds is pretty good for our bunch," Wade said. "We turned it over 11 times. We've been keeping our turnovers in single digits. When you turn it over 11 times, you've got to make up some of those possessions with some offensive rebounds, so that was progress tonight."

Ven-Allen Lubin — Jan 27, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack huddles during the first half of the game against the Syracuse Orange at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Lubin and freshman big man Musa Sagnia combined for eight of the Pack's 15 offensive rebounds. Holloman and Arceneaux combined for another five, despite being guards.

The improved rebounding, combined with other parts of the team's success from the road trip, remaining on point signified improving consistency for NC State. Wade can only hope that his group continues to push the momentum forward and avoids falling back into the pattern of having issues after getting things right.

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