What Went Wrong for NC State Against No. 20 Auburn?

NC State dropped to 5-3 in the first season of the Will Wade era with a loss to No. 20 Auburn on the road. It was the first true road test for the Wolfpack, as the previous two losses came at a neutral site in the Southwest Maui Invitational.

The Wolfpack fell 83-73 to the Tigers, struggling to stop Keyshawn Hall and Kevin Overton, who combined for a whopping 57 of Auburn's 83 points.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett breaks down the loss for the Wolfpack, identifying what went wrong for NC State on the Plains.

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What Wade thinks went wrong

Dec 3, 2025; Auburn, Alabama, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade directs his team during the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | John Reed-Imagn Images

After the loss to the Texas Longhorns on Maui, Wade felt that his group lacked the edge that he was looking for. The Wolfpack tried to fight back, but never felt like the aggressor against the Longhorns, or throughout most of the Maui Invitational, for that matter. Wade felt his team improved in many facets Wednesday night.

"We were better tonight. We were better than we were in Hawaii tonight when we got four of our five game standards," the coach said. "I mean, reality is they made some threes and we missed threes and they made some tough threes... Look, we don't ever want to lose, but this was way more encouraging than Hawaii in my mind."

The defensive strategy was a point of contention for Wade before he left for Maui, as he defended the game plan after being asked about the Wolfpack's tendency to leave shooters with space because of analytics and data NC State held in its pocket. Whatever that strategy might be, it doesn't seem to be working to the degree Wade and the coaching staff hoped.

"We don't want to hope that they miss," Wade said. "We post-trapped, but we called off the post-trap tonight. We went more solo in the post tonight than we've done all year. We haven't been turning teams over 20% on the post-trap teams and then shooting like 57% from two and 42% from three against us."

Auburn Tigers forward Keyshawn Hall (7) and NC State Wolfpack forward Ven-Allen Lubin (22) go after a rebound Auburn Tigers guard Kevin Overton (1) hugs head coach Steven Pearl after the game as Auburn Tigers take on NC State Wolfpack at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Auburn Tigers defeated NC State Wolfpack 83-73. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wade and the Wolfpack now face a more tenuous situation from a resumé standpoint, as the opportunities for non-conference wins of greater quality are dwindling. The coach still believes his team can salvage the non-conference campaign, however.

"We're in a tough spot. We got to fight our way out," Wade said. "We put ourselves in it. We've got to dig ourselves out. And we will."

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