What Wes Moore Said After the Wolfpack's Latest Victory

RALEIGH — After suffering a disappointing loss on the road against Clemson, NC State returned to the Reynolds Coliseum looking to correct its course through ACC play and secured an impressive victory over a lowly SMU squad. The 91-54 win over the Mustangs was some of the best basketball Wes Moore's team has played to date.

The Wolfpack's veteran head coach was pleased by his team's ability to flush the defeat from earlier in the week. NC State was on top of the Mustangs from the jump, blitzing them in the first quarter and never looking back. The dominant play moved Moore's group back in the right direction before another key week in the conference schedule.

What Moore said after the win

Devyn Quigley and Wes Moor — Mar 9, 2025; Greensboro, NC, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore talks with NC State Wolfpack guard Devyn Quigley (0) during the fourth quarter against Duke Blue Devils at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

A major part of the Wolfpack's turnaround after struggling on Thursday was the return of sophomore guard Zam Jones, who missed the Clemson loss after suffering an ankle injury in the victory over Cal a few days before. She returned to action against SMU, coming off the bench on an apparent minutes restriction. Her presence galvanized the Wolfpack's offense.

"We definitely missed her Thursday, but that's part of it," Moore said. "You're going to have, during the flow of the season... We've had a lot of people sick. We've had some small injuries, things like that, but other people have to step up... We did miss her. Obviously, she can shoot the three and she's great a distributing the ball and she's quick on (Defense), so we definitely missed her."

The Wolfpack attacked SMU with balance, as five different players finished the game in double figures, including junior guard Qadence Samuels. Moore understood that SMU was in a full rebuild and even admitted that he told their coaches to trust the process while they find their footing as a program under first-year head coach Adia Barnes. Still, he wanted his team to come out with urgency. It did.

"We came out and made a good statement," Moore said. "They went to a zone there... late in the second quarter and I was disappointed. I thought we stood around, settled for threes too much, but the good thing was we saw it before the half, so we were able to talk about it at halftime and I thought in the second half, we did a great job of getting the ball inside... We're still as a team meshing some."

Mar 28, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore reacts after a play against the LSU Lady Tigers during the Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

One area Moore would like to see improve more is the team's 3-point shooting. It was a better night from beyond the arc for the Wolfpack, which shot 8-for-22 in the victory, but the coach still believes there's another gear.

"I think we're a better 3-point shooting team than we have shown," he said. "I've been probably disappointed in that more than a lot of things, because I do see them in practice and they shoot with confidence. They're hitting threes with some range on it, but we hadn't been doing it in the games, and that's going to be important for us."

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