What Will Wade Thinks About Boston College
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RALEIGH — After Saturday's ugly loss to Virginia in the friendly confines of the Lenovo Center, NC State men's basketball hit the road for the first time in league play, making the trip north to Massachusetts to face Boston College. Tuesday's game against the Eagles will be the first true road game of the ACC season and just the second in Will Wade's brief tenure.
Shortly after arriving in Chestnut Hill, Wade spoke to ACC reporters via Zoom about the upcoming matchup and how the season is going. While Boston College isn't off to the best of starts, Wade still believes his team might be tested more than some may expect.
What did Wade say?
Before he dove into the potential problems Boston College might cause the Wolfpack, Wade addressed the team's defensive woes throughout the 10-5 start and opening split in league play. Virginia became the latest opponent to shoot 50% or better from the field against NC State's defense, continuing a concerning trend against higher-level competition.
"We've got to be able to guard the ball better. Our defensive emphasis has been guarding the ball 1-on-1," Wade said. "We haven't guarded the ball very well, which has put us in rotation and put us in some really tough situations. That's been our emphasis and we're going to need to certainly be better defensively than we've been."
So far under Wade, NC State has responded well after losses. At the Maui Invitational, following the opening round defeat against Seton Hall, the Wolfpack played a much-improved game against Boise State, getting its only win in that event. After losing to Kansas, Wade's group scored 108 points against lowly Texas Southern, with Paul McNeil scoring 47 points in the win.
"I think we've responded well. We had a pretty good workout yesterday. We just got to Boston... So we haven't practiced yet," Wade said. "... We were sharp yesterday. We'll see how it goes today, but I haven't sensed anything that's alarming thus far."
Earl Grant and the Boston College Eagles come into the matchup with a 7-7 record, including a loss in ACC play to Georgia Tech. NC State poses the stiffest challenge for the Eagles since an overtime loss to LSU in early December. Even so, Wade won't overlook a league opponent, especially on the road, fairly far away from Raleigh.
"They're very good defensively. We've got to do a much better job of running our offense," the Wolfpack coach said. "We've got to do a much better job of playing harder offensively than defensively... They're physical inside. They do a really good job getting free throws, offensive rebounds and they're one of the best baseline out-of-bounds offensive teams in the country... It's going to be tough sledding for us offensively against their defense."
NC State's 3-point defense has been a major issue through the first 15 games of the season, with a number of opposing players lighting up the Wolfpack from beyond the arc. Virginia's Sam Lewis was the most recent culprit, joining Melvin Council Jr. of Kansas and Jordan Pope from Texas in that club. Wade thinks Boston College might have a player to worry about should the Pack not follow the scouting report diligently.
"(Donald) Hand is certainly a handful and draws a ton of fouls," he said. "He does a really good job driving the ball. He hadn't shot it as well from three this year, but he also hadn't seen our defense yet this year. So that seems to be something that helps guys who haven't shot it as well, who've shot well in the past. We certainly have got to be aware of that."
The Wolfpack obviously isn't where Wade wanted it to be by this point of the season, so the Boston College game offers something of a reset for a group struggling with its identity. NC State might be without one key member of the rotation, as Tre Holloman left the Virginia loss early after suffering an ankle injury.
Wade and NC State can't afford any more hiccups, so the Pack will need to be on point in its first road test of the ACC season. Tuesday's game is scheduled for 9 P.M. EST and will be televised on the ACC Network.
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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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