What the First Week of ACC Play Holds for NC State
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RALEIGH — NC State men's basketball finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 9-4 record, slightly behind the expected goals of head coach Will Wade in his first season as the leader of the Pack. Now, the challenge shifts to conference play as the Wolfpack tries to shake things up in the ACC.
Things get going in the league on New Year's Eve, as NC State hosts Wake Forest to start a two-game opening week in the ACC. While there is still time for the Wolfpack to play itself into the tournament mix, it needs to get things going fast in the league and could do so with a pair of home wins this week.
Why the opening week is so important
As it currently stands, NC State ranks 32nd in the NET rankings, according to Bracketologists.com. The two home matchups include major opportunities to improve the team's standing on the all-important NET, as the Wake Forest game is slated to be a Quadrant-2 tilt and the Virginia matchup will be Quadrant-1, as the Cavaliers are ranked No. 21 in the latest AP Poll.
The Wolfpack already missed some significant chances to improve its resumé at the Southwest Maui Invitational and in losses to Auburn and Kansas. As it stands, the Pack is 1-3 in Quadrant-1 games and 2-1 in Quadrant 2 games. A win over Wake Forest would help Wade's squad wash away the stain of the loss to Texas in Maui.
The Demon Deacons are No. 58 in the latest KenPom rankings, well behind the Wolfpack at No. 28 after NC State bolstered its efficiency ratings with a solid win over Ole Miss on a semi-neutral court to end the non-conference slate. Wake Forest showed it could compete with elite competition like Michigan early on, but suffered an ugly loss to Vanderbilt recently.
Virginia poses more danger for Wade and the Pack, as the Cavaliers are beginning to round into form under first-year coach Ryan Odom. The VCU pipeline appears to be working in Charlottesville, albeit slightly faster than it is in Raleigh with Wade. According to KenPom, the Cavaliers have a 40% chance of winning the road matchup in the Lenovo Center.
Back to work. pic.twitter.com/fGVGMbkeBD
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) December 29, 2025
There was a greater sense of urgency from most of the Wolfpack roster in the win over Ole Miss. That same feeling will need to be on full display for the rest of the schedule, as the league games just mean more after the 9-4 start. It all starts this week in Raleigh.
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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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