NC State Heads to SMU as ACC Stakes Rise
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RALEIGH — After another two-win week, NC State men's basketball pushed its latest win streak to four games, the first such streak since the opening two weeks of the season. Now, Will Wade and the Wolfpack are set to enter the most daunting part of the ACC schedule, which begins with yet another road trip.
The Pack is set to face the SMU Mustangs (15-6, 4-4 ACC), one of the most dangerous teams in the conference, in Dallas on Tuesday. The Mustangs represent a significant step up in competition for NC State, both in individual talent and in resumé, but the road warrior mentality of the Wolfpack has yet to fail in league games, boasting a perfect 5-0 record in ACC play away from the Lenovo Center.
What to expect from Enfield's Mustangs
After a solid first season in the conference under coach Andy Enfield, SMU has taken significant steps as a program in the 2025-26 campaign under the former USC coach. While the Ponies have hit some landmines since the start of league play, they have been a very strong opponent against some of the best teams in the league, even beating North Carolina in Dallas earlier in the year.
Guard play is where things start and end for the Mustangs, as a three-headed monster of guards puts tremendous pressure on opponents every game. The backcourt trio of Boopie Miller, Jaron Pierre Jr. and B.J. Edwards accounts for a significant chunk of SMU's nightly scoring. Miller leads the way, scoring 19.4 points per game, while Pierre chips in with 17.0 and Edwards with 14.1.
BOOPIE MILLER WINS IT ON A HALF-COURT HEAVE OH MY GOODNESS 🤯@SMUBasketball pic.twitter.com/Wfei2MCpBs
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 15, 2026
Just days after Juke Harris, one of the most talented guards in the ACC and the star of Wake Forest, hung a career-high 31 points on the Wolfpack, three explosive guards who have all had unreal moments in the 2025-26 season are on the menu for the NC State defense. The 3-point shooting for SMU doesn't rate as strongly as the Wolfpack's, but the Mustangs still rank 56th in the country with a 36.3% rate from beyond the arc. Their 86.6 points per game leads the ACC, coming in just ahead of NC State and Louisville.
SMU isn't one of the stronger defensive teams in the conference, allowing an average of 77.5 points per game. Opponents punished the Mustangs on the offensive glass through the first few months of the season, averaging offensive rebounds on 31.8% of possessions. If NC State can continue its improved rebounding effort, it should bode well for the Pack.
How the Wolfpack can attack SMU
The Wolfpack can't afford another slow start. Other than the Pittsburgh win, it hasn't struggled with that on the road. Wade's team proved it could go into a hostile environment against a strong opponent and steal a win, knocking off Clemson earlier in the conference schedule, a team SMU could not defeat.
While a size disadvantage might be perceived as a disadvantage by many for NC State, it could also be a major benefit, especially on the offensive end. The Mustangs roll with 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu in the starting five, while the tallest member of the Pack's starting lineup is savvy veteran forward Ven-Allen Lubin at 6-foot-9. While he's giving up a lot of size, Lubin's mobility and ability to find open space should allow him to operate well in the post and as a driver.
If Quadir Copeland is on point and Darrion Williams is fully recovered from his Achilles and calf tightness, the Wolfpack should be able to succeed by driving through the SMU defense and forcing Yigitoglu to step and defend. Against Louisville, the center struggled to slow down cutters and rotate out onto the Cardinal shooters.
Freshman forward Musa Sagnia showed major improvements in the last two games and could be a solution to slowing down the SMU center on the other end if Lubin gets overmatched at times defensively. Wade showed some comfort in playing both Sagnia and Lubin together at various points of the season, so long as the guards defend well. That will start by preventing straight-line and middle drives for the Mustangs.
A win over the Mustangs will take a very strong effort for the Pack, but the road success of the last few weeks has shown that Wade's team is capable. The challenge will be finding the necessary consistency that has eluded the Wolfpack throughout the 2025-26 season.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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