NC State Walks Into Tough ACC Road Spot at Florida State

RALEIGH — Will Wade and NC State men's basketball already got one victory on the road earlier in the week, but they aren't done with the tests yet. The Wolfpack (11-5, 2-1 ACC) flew to Florida on Friday, set to face Florida State (7-8, 0-2 ACC) in the fourth game of the conference slate in Tallahassee on Saturday.

While the Seminoles haven't shot out to the start first-year head coach Luke Loucks was hoping for, they still represent a tricky road test for an NC State squad that has only played two true road games in the 2025-26 season, one of which came in front of fewer than 2,000 fans at Boston College.

What challenges do the Seminoles pose?

While Florida State doesn't have the best of records or the start it wanted to ACC play, it already faced two of the top teams in the conference in Duke and North Carolina, taking the former to the wire in Tallahassee. The Seminoles could be problematic for NC State's oft-leaky 3-point defense, as 53.8% of their shots come from beyond the arc, the third most in the nation.

"They also rank seventh in pace. While most teams have a specific big take the ball out after a basket, they just have the closest person take it out," Wade said about FSU on Thursday. "There are times when other teams score and they score in three seconds back on the other end. They play at a very, very fast pace. They have a lot of heavy NBA influence in how they play."

The Seminoles are led by senior guard Robert McCray in the scoring column. He enters the NC State game averaging 13.9 points and 7.0 assists per game, shooting 45.1% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc. The shooter the Wolfpack needs to keep an eye on is sophomore guard Martin Somerville. He is shooting better from beyond the arc than he is overall, knocking down threes at a 39.1% clip.

"They do a great job of picking at matchups," Wade said. "I told our guys, 'It's going to be like Where's Waldo?' They are going to find the weak link defensively like Where's Waldo... (They) put you on an island. In the Duke game, they (isolated) for about ten minutes in the second half. They got McRae switched onto exactly who they wanted, and he just drove around him like the guy was standing still."

How NC State can attack

Florida State's pace can be a problem for the opposition, but it also causes them to play out of control at times. With Darrion Williams taking on more of a backup point guard role and handling more of the offense, NC State should be able to dictate the pace of the game more effectively. Things won't be easy without Tre Holloman, who is set to miss his second straight game with an ankle injury.

NC State limited the turnovers to just four giveaways in the win over Boston College. If it can replicate that recipe against the Seminoles, who force turnovers on 22.1% of possessions, the Wolfpack should be in good shape. While Florida State's defense isn't a total disaster, it's fairly vulnerable inside, meaning it could be a big day for Ven-Allen Lubin.

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