NC State Opens ACC Schedule With Solid Victory
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RALEIGH — NC State opened up the ACC schedule with an impressive 70-57 win over Wake Forest, moving to 10-4 on the season. In front of a home crowd, it was a nice way for the Wolfpack to wrap up the 2025 calendar year and carry on with league play.
Overcoming giveaways and sloppiness
Before the game began, Wade said that the Wolfpack’s problems with shooting turnovers were a major point of emphasis throughout the week. NC State’s staff believed that some of the poorly selected shots were essentially turnovers, leading to easy transition offense for opponents during the non-conference slate. In the first few minutes against the Demon Deacons, it continued to be a problem.
While overcoming shooting turnovers is one thing, adding in sloppiness in general didn’t help the Wolfpack’s cause early in the matchup. The Pack racked up eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the first half, with Quadir Copeland accounting for four of them. Wake Forest’s defense is predicated on generating takeaways, so the turnover-heavy performance wasn’t much of a shock.
Said it once and we’ll say it again: H11M. pic.twitter.com/yEMp3TijER
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) December 31, 2025
Wake Forest didn’t generate much in the first half from the turnovers and committed 11 of its own. Both teams combined for 22 giveaways in the first half, with the Wolfpack scoring 13 points off those turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Despite the 11 turnovers, NC State was able to get out to a four-point lead at the half, although it led by as many as 10.
While he turned the ball over a lot, no player thrived in the chaotic game flow more than Copeland did. The senior maintained his relentless attack at the basket in the second half, despite playing with three fouls. He finished the game with 14 points, seven assists, two rebounds and three steals.
The script flipped in the second half. There was a greater urgency to protect the basketball from NC State, while Wake Forest still dealt with turnover woes. After the 11 giveaways in the first 20 minutes, the Pack had four turnovers in the second half.
Williams makes an impact
NC State’s star forward has been in a rut over the last three weeks outside of the loss to Kansas. Whether that was due to issues with his shoulder injury or just a slump is unclear, but Williams needed to get into gear in the conference opener to shift the momentum for the rest of the season and prove himself as the team’s alpha.
It didn’t start well. He missed his first three shots and picked up two quick fouls, forcing Wade to yank him from the game and hand the reins to Copeland as the high usage option. However, Williams gained a rhythm in his later stints in the first half and rebounded the ball effectively. He shifted from looking to score to acting as the team’s point-forward, changing the pace from Copeland’s blistering tempo.
The D Will to Musa connection is art. pic.twitter.com/sfErh0dWNd
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) December 31, 2025
Williams’ processing ability remains among the best on the roster. As he brought the ball down the floor, he clearly read Wake Forest’s defensive tendencies as the game went on, one time easily identifying a mismatch in the paint to get forward Ven-Allen Lubin a layup. He did the same with freshman big man Musa Sagnia, racking up another assist with a well-placed paint entry pass.
While the shooting struggles were still there, Williams found a way to help the Wolfpack start ACC play with a win. The senior scored eight points, shooting 3-of-12 from the field, but also added six rebounds and four assists in the victory.
Finding a different way to win
Wake Forest boasted a fairly strong 3-point defense coming into the game and the Wolfpack did not start the game shooting the ball well from behind the arc. Instead of overcommitting to the 3-point shot, NC State found different ways to put points on the board. The Demon Deacon frontcourt struggled mightily all afternoon, while the Pack’s guards and big men relentlessly attacked on the offensive end.
NC State racked up 38 paint points, while Wake Forest scored just 24. Before the game, Wade expressed a desire to give Sagnia and Lubin more minutes together. The pair helped create the distinct paint advantage for the Wolfpack on both ends of the floor. With the team shooting just 6-of-21 from downtown, the efforts of those two players, combined with the downhill drives from Copeland, overwhelmed the interior defense of the Demon Deacons.
Lubin scored 12 points and hauled in 11 rebounds, while Sagnia added six points and eight boards off the bench. Wade’s increasing confidence in Sagnia is helping clarify what the rotation should look like the rest of the ACC season for the Wolfpack.
The defense completely baffled Wake Forest, which endured several lengthy scoring droughts and struggled to shoot the basketball effectively throughout the game. The Demon Deacons finished the game shooting 34% from the field.
Final word
THE STEAL AND SLAM 💥
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) December 31, 2025
Quadir Copeland getting it done on both ends for @PackMensBball!
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/nmTzGO9O1v
NC State’s win over Wake Forest did two major things. First, it helped the Wolfpack maintain the momentum it began to gain toward the end of the non-conference slate after beating Texas Southern and Ole Miss in the final week. The improved defensive effort still showed up for Wade’s team in the win over the Demon Deacons.
Second, it marked a key win in a crucial opening week of the ACC schedule against the pair of teams the Wolfpack will see twice in conference play. Now, NC State turns its gaze to a massive matchup against No. 21 Virginia on Saturday.
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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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