Where NC State Stands in Key Metric Systems

When Darrion Williams released his 3-point shot with just over a second on the clock against No. 19 Kansas, NC State's early season struggles looked like they might be a thing of the past. The shot landed short of the rim and the Wolfpack fell to 7-4 in the first season of the Will Wade era, continuing a trend of missed opportunities through the first month of the campaign.

While those shortcomings have some fans of the Wolfpack and even some members of the media ringing alarm bells, there's no reason to hit the panic button.

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett takes you through the key metric systems like KenPom, Torvik and the NET system, explaining why NC State's standing is still strong.

Watch the episode here

Wade says the time to make moves is now

Dec 6, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade looks on before the first half of the game against UNC Asheville Bulldogs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

While NC State's more challenging non-conference slate gave it some opportunities for mistakes, Wade understands the time for the Wolfpack to kick into gear is now. The Pack ranks 28th according to KenPom, 36th according to the NET rankings and 28th on Bart Torvik's rankings. All of those positions indicate NC State is still an NCAA Tournament team.

"Time is running out. I'm not hitting the panic button... But there is an urgency about what we're doing," Wade said after the Kansas loss. "We've scheduled these games and we haven't won them, and we've also played the toughest non-conference schedule in our league by a pretty wide margin, but we haven't won the games. That is just a fact. But our team is good enough to win a lot of these games."

After the Kansas loss, Wade stressed the importance of keeping his team together through the rough stretches. While the Wolfpack couldn't pull out a win over the Jayhawks, it showed that the group could compete with one of the nation's best teams. Building on that result will be paramount for the Pack if it is to go on a successful run through conference play when the ACC schedule gets going.

"It's like I told the guys. The results right now are lagging from our work; the results haven't shown on the scoreboard yet," Wade said. "But, we were massively better than we were 10 days ago when we left Auburn. The team is a lot better... Now, you can splinter when you're taking on water on these losses like this, but I don't believe this group will."

Want more NC State basketball content throughout the year? Follow @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker on X (Twitter) and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.