NC State Basketball Preview: Wolfpack Opens Season Against NC Central
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RALEIGH — The Lenovo Center will be the center of attention in Raleigh on Monday night, as Will Wade and NC State men's basketball are set to lift the lid on the 2025-26 season. The Wolfpack is set to face NC Central, a strong MEAC program, in the opener.
The NCCU Eagles are led by 16-year veteran coach LeVelle Moton, a well-known staple of college basketball in the state. While the Eagles haven't made it to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, they remain a solid program under Moton's leadership. It will be a test against a very different opponent for the Wolfpack right out of the gate.
What to Expect from NC Central
While the Eagles returned only one starter, guard Dionte Johnson, Moton rebuilt with a number of transfer additions who should help the Eagles get back to their winning ways in the MEAC. The Eagles play at a breakneck pace and finished third in the nation with 15.79 fastbreak points per game in the 2024-25 season. Wade provided some insight into how the Eagles are able to operate that way.
"Each of the last six year,s they've been top 100 in the country in forced turnover rate. And so if we can't handle the ball better against that, it's going to be an issue," Wade said. "That's something that's going to be important going into Monday night."
Poetry in motion, Jae Slack.#EarnedEveryDay x @NSUDemonsMBB pic.twitter.com/Oaqj0THKkm
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) March 11, 2024
Wade and his staff ran into one of the focal points of the Eagle offense at McNeese State. Scoring guard Jae Slack spent last season at West Virginia State, a Division-II program, and faced the Cowboys when he was with Northwestern State before that. The transfer averaged 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game a season ago.
"They've got good personnel. They play hard. They'll play a bunch of different things. So they'll cause some challenges for us on Monday night," Wade said.
Wade's relationship with Moton goes back a long way. The Wolfpack coach got to know Moton when he was a high school coach. The NC Central head man was one of the first people to call Wade when he took the VCU job.
"He's a great guy, a great coach. Like I said, they force a ton of turnovers. His stuff is very consistent over time. You're not top 100 in turnover force rate six straight years if you're not consistent with that," Wade said. "You're not 11 times top 50 in 3-point field goal percentage. That stuff is consistent. That's being a great coach. And that stuff translates wherever you are."
As Wade indicated, the Eagles can space it out and make you pay in transition. While the Wolfpack holds a massive talent advantage and will be playing in front of an amped Lenovo Center crowd, NC Central won't be a pushover.
The Wolfpack and the Eagles will tip off the 2025-26 season at 7 P.M. EST.
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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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