NC State’s past few basketball games, including our loss to Georgia Tech before a win at Clemson, display serious inconsistency. The lows look bad, with their disappointing losses to bottom-tier Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams. However, the highs look like this team can go as far as momentum could take them.
On Jan. 17, 2026, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the NC State Wolfpack 78-74.
NC State lost the lead around halfway through the second half, and was never able to regain it. They struggled heavily down the stretch and ended the game two for nine from the field over their final nine attempts of the game.
Kowacie Reeves Jr., the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer with 21 points, made a deep 3-pointer for the Jackets with 2:15 to go, making it an 8-point game, which sealed the Wolfpack’s fate.
This was one of the worst losses of the season for the Wolfpack. This loss was its first Quad three or four loss according to NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which is the worst possible outcome for the Pack. Every bad loss hurts its in-progress resume to make the NCAA tournament.
Will Wade had a few things to say about the performance.
“I can’t guarantee you with this group that that’s how we’re going to respond. I don’t know, I wish I could, but I’m not sure,” Wade said.“We can’t ever get into any sort of rhythm, or get any momentum, which has just been a major issue.”
Regarding their resume, he said, “Our resume wasn’t great, but it was clean. No bad losses. Now it’s blemished. We’re going to have to punch above our weight class a couple of times to get back where we need to be,” and that’s exactly what they did Jan. 20.
NC State went into Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC, just a few days later as underdogs, having only won one out of the last eight matchups against the No. 18 Tigers, needing a bounce-back win.
They got it, defeating Clemson 80-76 in an overtime thriller behind a big-time effort from Ven-Allen Lubin. (22 points, 9/12 FG) Lubin was masterful, a performance reminiscent of his game against UNC Asheville earlier in the year, where he had 23 points on 9/11 shooting. He was also four of four from the line.
NC State made 22 of 25 foul shots, a large improvement from 16 of 25 a few nights before at Georgia Tech. It was this, and their ability to hit shots down the stretch and in OT, specifically Lubin and Williams, that led to the much-needed victory for NC State.
3-point shooting was the difference-maker. NC State’s two highest volume deep shooters, Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil, have shown the huge difference it makes when they are threats from outside of the 3-point line.
Against Georgia Tech, they made 4 of 16 combined. Against Clemson, that number jumped slightly to 6 of 15. In the latter, they both hit big shots down the stretch, shots that didn’t fall in the previous game. Those two have to continue to shoot a decent percentage at a high volume at which they take threes.
The win, an example of what this team can do when clicking, brings them to 3-0 on the road in ACC play. It remains to be seen which version of the Pack is going to come out on any given night. They have the capabilities to win some big games if things go right.
Evan Miya, a college basketball stats analyst, said, the Pack averages around 0.9 or more 10-0 or better runs a game, and concedes around 0.65 as of Jan. 16. That makes them one of the streakiest teams in the country.
Wade won at his alma mater, Clemson, but he, once again, was a little skeptical. “Hopefully this gives us some pop. Just don’t know what with this group we got,” he said postgame, unsure of whether the team would carry this momentum.
The Wolfpack, now 15-6 and 6-2 ACC, won at Pittsburgh away on Saturday, Jan. 24, followed by a home win vs. Syracuse on the 28. They need to continue to win ACC games in which they are favored to stay above the bubble for the NCAA tournament, and win them now, because the end of the season looks to be a gauntlet.
Four of their last seven opponents are currently ranked: Louisville, UNC, UVA and Duke. If the Pack can’t win at least two out of three of these next few matches, after a good start with Pitt and Syracuse, the final stretch in the season will be a lot more crucial for an NCAA berth, and the Wolfpack will have to win some games as the underdog.
