The Descent Continues as NC State Falls to Stanford
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RALEIGH — It was more of the same for an NC State team that continues to fall apart down the stretch in Will Wade’s first season at the helm of the program. In a must-win situation to avoid a potential trip to the bubble, the Wolfpack failed against Stanford at home, losing 85-84.
Many of the same problems that plagued the Pack through the previous few losses persisted on Saturday. Shot-making disappeared in key stretches. Offensive rebounding was lopsided. NC State is officially in trouble.
Everything but the kitchen sink
For the second-straight game, NC State utilized several different defensive looks in an effort to throw off the Cardinal. The Wolfpack threw a zone at Duke on Monday, which had limited success, but Wade promised his team would continue to tinker on that end of the floor in an effort to turn the season around down the stretch.
The Pack came out with a couple of different zone looks, even doubling Cardinal star guard Ebuka Okorie out of the zone a handful of times early in the game. While it slowed Stanford’s offense, it also allowed the visiting team free offensive rebounds because of the problematic spacing of the zone. The Cardinal finished the first half with 10 offensive boards and 10 second-chance points.
Eventually, Okorie broke free. The ACC’s leading scorer identified a weakness in one lineup NC State threw his way in the first half and had his big men wipe out Alyn Breed with screens before canning three triples in a row to give his team an eight-point advantage. Wade continued to adjust the defense, forcing the Cardinal to adjust on the fly, but Okorie’s scoring prowess made some of the changes ineffective.
Transition defense started to hurt NC State in the second half, as Stanford made a concerted effort to beat the junk defenses down the floor. Okorie took off in transition a handful of times and faced little resistance on the other end, finishing with ease at the rack.
Waking up the offense
Stanford’s physicality threw off the NC State offense through most of the first half. Ven-Allen Lubin found some success inside, operating in his usual role, but the outside shots simply weren’t falling for the Wolfpack. The team finished the half shooting 1-of-9 from 3-point range and trailed the Cardinal by three.
The Wolfpack came out of the locker room with much more of an edge. Tre Holloman knocked down a pair of triples that helped spark a run that ultimately put the Wolfpack up by five points once again. The team made five of its first eight attempts from the field in the second half. Slowing down Stanford remained a problem, but an 8-0 run after falling behind by five woke the crowd up.
The rookie with back-to-back threes! pic.twitter.com/Z9RDhSuoJ3
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) March 7, 2026
NC State finally pulled down some rebounds and found freshman guard Matt Able free in the corner for back-to-back triples, forcing Stanford coach Kyle Smith to call a timeout. The run ended quickly and the Cardinal pulled right back in front.
Lacking effort when it counts
The ball-watching rebounding defined another lackluster effort for the Wolfpack. Stanford mauled NC State on the glass in the second half. On the other end of the floor, sloppiness cost the Pack every time it appeared to be putting things together. The team ultimately turned the ball over 12 times. Those lost possessions hurt, especially down the stretch.
Stanford just had better answers, whether it was a circus 3-pointer from Benny Gealer as the shot clock expired to stop an 8-0 Wolfpack run, or offensive rebounds to extend possessions after hard defense. Every missed shot and turnover felt like more sand dripping into the wrong end of the hourglass for NC State.
Okorie continued to dominate, scoring 33 points for the Cardinal. NC State fought back in the final three minutes, but it was too little, too late, as Copeland turned it over in the final 30 seconds, trailing by two.
Final word
Lubin and Able stood out in the game, while other stars, especially Darrion Williams, struggled mightily. Lubin finished the game with another double-double, scoring 17 and pulling down 11 rebounds. At times, he was the only one fighting on the glass. Able chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds of his own.
The loss marked the sixth in NC State's last seven games. Now, the Wolfpack must await other results to find out just how low it’ll sink in the ACC Tournament standings. It could be as high as an eight-seed if the cards fall in the wrong way.
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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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