Why Will Wade Thinks NC State Lost to Texas
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When the Southwest Maui Invitational began on Monday, NC State entered ranked No. 23 in the country with a tremendous amount of confidence in what looked like a weaker field at the event. When the final buzzer sounded Wednesday, the Wolfpack lost its second game in three days, this time allowing 102 points to the Texas Longhorns.
The final game, Wednesday's 102-97 loss to Sean Miller's squad, was a perfect encapsulation of the smaller issues for NC State compounding into one messy loss. First-year head coach Will Wade understood the disappointment the performance of his team caused for Wolfpack fans who made the trip to Maui and who watched back home in Raleigh. So what did he think went wrong?
Failing to defend the perimeter
The Longhorns buried a season-high 16 threes on the Wolfpack defense just under a week after Wade said his defense worked to allow low-percentage 3-point shots only. The perimeter defense was a disaster, as Texas senior guard Jordan Pope led the way with 28 points, making seven threes. Wade immediately pointed to that area as a major problem after the game.
"Well, we're going to have to look at some of our defensive stuff. These guys, we just... we're just not where we need to be defensively. I've got to look at all that when we get back and start watching on the plane tonight as we're flying back," Wade said. "... But just all systems breakdown defensively."
Lacking an edge
Wade did not believe the Wolfpack's issues with defending without fouling contributed majorly to the loss. NC State committed 27 personal fouls and had three players foul out of the game. He pointed out the team's depth as an area of strength that allowed them to survive that issue for the most part, instead blaming his group's lack of an edge on himself and how he's prepared them for the gauntlet.
"I've been trying to instill an edge, and just haven't been able to get through to them. This is on me. It ain't them. They're good kids," Wade said. "They're trying. But we don't have the hard edge that you need in these type games, and we just don't have it and we've got to develop it and we've got to develop it quick because it's not going to get any easier Wednesday night (against Auburn)."
Blaming himself
Wade continually blamed himself for the loss and the team's 1-2 finish in the Maui Invitational. With matchups against Auburn, Kansas and Ole Miss all coming in December, he believes his team has a long way to go, but that he needs to be the one to fix things first.
"But it's not on the players, it's on me. It's my job to lead the program," Wade said. "It's my job to get everybody right and get us better, get us moving in the right direction, and we haven't done that as well as we need to."
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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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