Wes Moore, NC State Ready to See Tennessee Again

After a quick exit in the 2026 Ally ACC Tournament, NC State women's basketball earned the No. 7 seed in the Fort Worth Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack is set to face a familiar foe in Ann Arbor, Mich., taking on No. 10 seed Tennessee, which it faced off against in the season opener all the way back in early November.

While head coach Wes Moore didn't seem too confident about his team following the loss to Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal, his tune changed. Some of that confidence stemmed from the fact that the Pack outlasted the Volunteers in a back-and-forth affair in Greensboro, but both teams went on to disappointing seasons in conference play.

What Moore and the Wolfpack stars said about Tennessee

Having already beaten Tennessee, there's some obvious confidence within the Wolfpack about the matchup. Junior forward Khamil Pierre played her first-ever game with NC State in Greensboro against the Volunteers, quickly establishing herself as one of the premier power forwards in the sport en route to an All-American Honorable Mention from the Associated Press.

"I think it just gives us another opportunity to show that we're a better team," she said. "I think just playing them before earlier this season gives us a better feel for the game. So I think we're pretty comfortable going into tomorrow."

Junior guard Zoe Brooks, who joined Pierre as a First-Team All-ACC player, also expressed confidence in facing the Volunteers again, having already beaten them. Brooks recorded a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double in the matchup.

"We played Tennessee in the first game this season, as many may know, and it was a tough game," Brooks said. "It was obviously a really hard battle, but we found a way to pull it through towards the end. I think we won by three. I'm interested to see how tomorrow will go."

Meeting with the media 🎤 pic.twitter.com/Nd8Q7YAh7P
— NC State WBB 🐺🏀 (@PackWomensBball) March 19, 2026

Having transferred from Vanderbilt, Pierre is more familiar than any member of the Wolfpack when it comes to facing the Volunteers. She'll try to channel her many past experiences against Tennessee in the Round of 64, but it won't be easy to be the Vols twice in the same season.

"I've played Tennessee probably more than I've played any team in college basketball, so just being familiar with their system and how fast of a pace they have," Pierre said.

NC State coach Wes Moore gestures during a women's college basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the NC State Wolfpack at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Oklahoma won 103-98. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The same challenges posed by Tennessee in the season opener remain several months later, at least according to Moore. The Wolfpack struggled against the top-tier competition, especially when it came to closing games. The one team it did manage to hold off in the end was the Volunteers at a neutral site.

"Again, we've been a little streaky. I do like the fact we're capable of playing, I think, with anyone at a high level. We're excited about the opportunity," Moore said. "Tennessee's a big challenge, obviously very long, athletic team that does a lot of things well. I think you have to try to slow down the transition game, you have to handle their press and take care of the ball because they pretty much do that the entire game. You've got to try to keep them off the offensive boards."