Wolfpack Remains Perfect on the Road With Latest ACC Win
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PITTSBURGH — For the second time in one week, NC State leaned on its grit to overcome adversity on the road, hanging on to beat Pittsburgh 81-72. Saturday’s victory pushed the Wolfpack to a perfect 4-0 on the road since the start of conference play.
The Pack overcame some early offensive struggles and leaned on some clutch shooting from Paul McNeil in key moments to win the day. Will Wade's team found a way to win in a game that required some different styles of play.
War of attrition
Slow starts have defined some of the Wolfpack’s worst losses in the 2025-26 season. More often than not, the sleepy noon start times have been detrimental to the team’s ability to come out with urgency. That was no different against the Panthers, as it took the Pack more than six minutes to make its first field goal, a Ven-Allen Lubin dunk.
After Pitt took a 13-4 lead on the back of some impressive rebounding, Wade’s group finally kicked it into gear offensively. The Wolfpack ripped off a 9-0 run to tie the game and eventually turned the Panthers into the struggling offensive team for an extended period of the first half. By the end of the half, both teams woke up the offense, with the Pack leading 34-33 after a buzzer-beating layup for Quadir Copeland.
Q is the first to 10 points for either team. 💪 pic.twitter.com/h1DUC7stDB
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 24, 2026
The Wolfpack struggled throughout the second half, but never let the game get out of reach. Pitt’s dismal free-throw shooting helped keep things close. Eventually, McNeil broke out, burying a pair of threes to break the tie and give the Wolfpack a six-point lead with under 10 minutes to play. The Pack pushed it to eight and never looked back, despite a couple of desperate pushes from the Panthers.
A bludgeoning on the glass
Wade has been honest about his team’s issues rebounding the basketball. Against Clemson, the Wolfpack struggled on the glass, but still found a way to come up with key defensive rebounds down the stretch. Saturday was a completely different story, as Pitt dominated NC State in that statistical category.
While the Pack evened things out on the defensive glass as the game went on, the Panthers' onslaught on the other end created a dicey situation for the away team. Freshman forward Roman Siulepa took over the game, flying around and extending Pitt’s already painfully long possessions. The former rugby player finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
NC State countered with some more minutes for Musa Sagnia and Lubin together in the first half, but the offense suffered while that combo shared the floor. Pitt’s success on the glass led to a surplus of second-chance points, which suitably countered the Wolfpack’s points off turnovers. The Pack overcame a 52-31 loss in the rebounding column to win the game.
More Williams problems for the Wolfpack
After coming up clutch against Clemson earlier in the week, NC State forward Darrion Williams reverted to his less aggressive form and struggled mightily against the Panthers. The initial issues stemmed from the fact that he picked up a pair of fouls early in the first half and had to sit out for a major chunk of that period.
When he came back, he didn’t show the same aggression he had against the Tigers, taking very few shots. He passed up a handful of open 3-point shots for pass attempts that went awry. His quiet offensive effort led to the offensive dilemma NC State has dealt with so much during the 2025-26 season: Copeland driving the bus.
9-0 run - with six points from Q - ties it up in the first. pic.twitter.com/p3xeav8yM2
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 24, 2026
It’s well documented that the Wolfpack has won just two games when Copeland takes more than 10 shots. In dire need of a scoring punch, Copeland stepped in, attacking the basket with his usual relentless aggression. However, he was way ahead of the pace the staff prefers, taking eight of his 11 total shots in the first half. While it seemed to be out of necessity, it landed the Wolfpack in some dangerous waters. Copeland finished a team-high 20 points and nine assists.
Copeland reached four fouls late in the second half. Wade went back to Williams, who came up clutch once again. He corralled a critical offensive rebound and got to the free-throw line twice to maintain the lead and push it to nine points. He finished with seven points, four rebounds and two assists despite the 17.2% usage rate.
Final word
McNeil’s five made threes all seemed to come at the right time. The sophomore scored 15 points for NC State. The other key stat that helped the Wolfpack overcome the rebounding issues and early inefficiency was the free-throw success. NC State shot 22-of-27 from the charity stripe, while Pitt shot a dismal 11-for-25.
NC State moved to 14-6 overall and 5-2 in ACC play after knocking off the Panthers. Assuming there are no issues with the winter storms over the rest of the weekend, the Wolfpack will take on Syracuse back in the Lenovo Center on Tuesday.
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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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