Why Will Wade's Confidence in NC State Continues to Grow

The NC State men's basketball team is suddenly surging toward the top of the ACC, winning six straight games as a few players begin to break out for first-year head coach Will Wade.

The wins have helped the Wolfpack emerge from a "bubble team" for the NCAA Tournament to having a legitimate argument for inclusion in the next Top 25 polls, and suddenly, everything they've been hoping to accomplish after the coaching change may be attainable in Year 1.

EXCLUSIVE: @GoodmanHoops talks with @PackMensBball coach Will Wade after their sixth straight win 🔥

"Our guys have done a MUCH better job of responding..."

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— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 7, 2026

"I think we're right on schedule, maybe a little ahead of schedule in terms of where we are in the ACC," Wade said of his team in an interview with The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman following Saturday's win over Virginia Tech. "Our goal from the beginning was to be a top-half ACC team, try to compete for the double bye [in the ACC Tournament], and to get to the NCAA Tournament. I think we have all those things on the table for us right now."

NC State's Upcoming Challenges

NC State does indeed have all those things on the table. Following Saturday's win, the Wolfpack sits in a tie for second-place with No. 18 Virginia, trailing No. 3 Duke and No. 20 Clemson, who are tied for first after Duke's loss to No. 14 North Carolina. The top four teams in the ACC get the double bye in the conference tournament, meaning NC State would achieve that goal if the season ended today. It also entered the day as a projected No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, keeping the NCAA Tournament dream alive.

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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 7, 2026

But there's still plenty of season left, and things could go one way or another rather quickly. There are seven games left in the Wolfpack's regular season, and five of them are against teams that are within three games of first place, including each of the next four games.

The stretch starts with a road game on Monday night against No. 20 Louisville, and continues against Miami (FL), No. 14 North Carolina, and No. 18 Virginia. The Wolfpack also takes on No. 4 Duke in the beginning of March, which could have monumental stakes depending on the outcomes in February.

nc state ac — Feb 7, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) with the ball shoves Virginia Tech Hokies guard Jaden Schutt (2) during the first half of the game at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

"We need to pick up some more wins here down the stretch, and our schedule's certainly tough, but that's how you want it," Wade said. "This was a tough stretch, too -- SMU and Virginia Tech at home -- and we were able to pull those out."

Since an uncharacteristic loss to Georgia Tech put his team in a compromising position, Wade has been pleased with its response, citing a win over No. 20 Clemson as the turning point and a reason to be confident for the upcoming stretch.

"We won at Clemson, who's in second place in the league, so we've won some big games, but I think that's who our team is," he added. "We can play with anybody in this league, but anybody in this league can also beat us. We're not dominant where we can play a B or a C game and beat anybody. We've got to be a B+ to A every night, so that's the challenge: to maintain the consistency these last seven games."

If they can do that against the top teams in the ACC, Will Wade and the NC State Wolfpack will find themselves exactly where they wanted to be when this whole thing started.

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