NC State overcomes slow start against UAB. What we learned from its win

N.C. State did not play the kind of basketball head coach Will Wade wants for his team in the first half against Alabama-Birmingham on Friday. The Wolfpack missed defensive assignments, its offense did not play with cohesion, and the Pack’s effort on the glass lacked oomph.

In the second half, though, the Wolfpack broke the game open. On a night the Pack welcomed back former player and now-UAB coach Andy Kennedy, N.C. State again broke out the offensive firepower in a 94-70 win over the Blazers at Lenovo Center.

The Wolfpack (2-0) outscored the Blazers 53-37 in the second half, despite a few sloppy possessions, including consecutive turnovers that led to an impassioned Wade stomping on the sideline ahead of the under-8 media timeout. Its back-end defense allowed the Blazers (1-1) to make some easy baskets as well.

Wade was glad to get a win, but he wasn’t pleased with how it happened, with very few positive notes coming out of his postgame news conference.

“We’ve got to guard the damn ball. Our defenders have to guard the ball one on one,” Wade said. “We gave up 44 points in the paint tonight. Luckily, they shot 4 of 25 from three, but we just got blown by, blown by, blown by. [I] started subbing guys out as they got blown by. We’ve got to be able to sit down and guard the ball. And, our gap help gets too extended. We’ve got to sit in the gaps and rake at the ball and not let them just straight line-drive us to the paint.

“At some point, you’ve got to be able to sit down and guard the guy in front of you and keep his (expletive) out of the paint. If you can’t do that, we gotta go find somebody who can.”

The first-year head coach also criticized his team’s 14 turnovers, with Tre Holloman and Quadir Copeland combining for seven. He understands they’re going to happen, but the goal is to finish with 12 or fewer per game and, ideally, stick to 10 or fewer.

“What our point guards have to understand is, when you have the ball, you have our program in your hands,” Wade said. “You have N.C. State in your hands. All the fans watching on TV, everybody who cares about our basketball program, you have them in your hands. You have to take care of the ball. Ball security is job security. If you want to be the damn point guard, then you have to secure the ball.”

Nothing came easy early in the Wolfpack’s second game of the season. It seemed like shots wouldn’t fall. Darrion Williams started the game 1 for 6 from the field, while Matt Able was 2 for 5 in the first half, all of his misses coming from outside the arc.

Many of the Pack’s early-game issues stemmed from an inability to move the ball against an aggressive UAB defense. N.C. State was settling for isolation plays instead of making extra passes.

N.C. State’s defense couldn’t keep Jacob Meyer off the sheet early, either. The Holy Cross transfer started the game 4 of 5 and pushed the Blazers to take an early lead. He finished with 15 points.

Additionally, the Wolfpack didn’t rebound with the same intensity it did against N.C. Central. It was beaten multiple times on the same possession, and it didn’t box out consistently. N.C. State finished with a 38-35 rebounding advantage, giving up 17 offensive rebounds.

If the defense in the paint had been better, Wade said its rebounding effort probably would have been better, too. It was all connected, and the team had small errors that made the win less satisfying.

“That is at the top of the priority list,” Wade said. “The turnovers, the rebounding and being able to guard the ball one on one — shot selection is a distant fourth — but those are at the top of the list.”

All the early bobbles appeared to right themselves in the second half, though. Paul McNeil and Copeland led the team with 18 points, while Holloman and Williams finished with 14.

Here’s what we learned from N.C. State’s second win under Will Wade:

3-pointers don’t fall early

Wade said after the Wolfpack’s opener it was unlikely his team was going to hit its 3-pointers at a 50% clip every game. The law of averages hit the Wolfpack in a big way Friday night.

N.C. State started the game 0 of 12 from the perimeter. Three players, including Williams — he went 4 of 6 against N.C. Central — were 0 for 2 to start the evening. Able was 0 for 3 in the opening period.

McNeil made the first 3-pointer after 13:34 of game time elapsed. Two possessions later, Copeland made the second. Wade credited UAB’s defensive zone, which got the team off balance, but he said some of it was also shot selection.

The Wolfpack hit a program-record 19 threes in its opener, which proves it can make perimeter shots. Friday, there were times the Pack opted to take a three instead of looking in the lane for a better shot. It took threes while falling out of bounds and took them off bad passes.

N.C. State finally found a rhythm from the arc, going 7 of 14 in the second half and finishing 10 of 30 from downtown. Jerry Deng even hit a pair of threes, but the first-half shooting was certainly not something the Wolfpack would like to repeat.

“Shot quality wasn’t what it needed to be,” Wade said. “That was pretty disappointing, but we were able to get that corrected as we went through the game.”

Wade’s passion is evident

Wade picked up his second technical foul in as many games, his face increasing in redness as he argued against Musa Sagnia’s first foul. A minute and a half remained in the first half.

The following possession, Copeland picked up his first foul. Wade followed his first rant with a second, shouting at the officials, “That’s so soft.”

Wade said he wasn’t trying to get a technical and doesn’t want to continue the trend. He will try to adjust in the coming games.

The players like to see their coach fired up, though. It helps increase the team’s energy and motivate the players to be aggressive the entire game.

“Coach just wants to win. Dominate, actually,” Holloman said. “When he is fired up, we just get fired up. In the second half, we just came out and then turned up.”

Wade picked up his first technical in the opener, when the Pack led the Eagles by 54 points and had 6:10 left on the clock. He was arguing against Sagnia’s fifth foul.

Big men make specialized impacts

Ven-Allen Lubin entered the season expecting to play a larger role on offense, setting screens, playing with Williams on the pick-and-roll, and being called on to drive to the basket. He’s done that through the first two games, shooting efficiently from the lane. He finished with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting after going 4 of 4 in the opener.

Lubin, however, struggled with turnovers against UAB and wasn’t the most aggressive rebounder. That’s a role Sagnia, who is from Gambia, seems to have taken over. He finished with four points and 10 rebounds against UAB, an early season high.

Wade called Sagnia “phenomenal,” while his teammates credited his positivity.

“His like, motor is just high,” Holloman said. “He’s just grateful; grateful to be here; grateful to be a part of our team. He does all of the little things right. We just trust him, and we love him, man. Just seeing Musa grow is amazing.”

Lubin’s limited action on the boards can partially be credited to foul trouble, Wade added. He also said the team trusts Lubin. The senior had some mental mistakes that they hope to fix.

Then, add in Deng’s six points and two rebounds, and it was still, overall, a strong outing from the frontcourt.

These are three players who haven’t gotten quite as much attention — at least for their basketball — but they have shown glimpses that they can be major contributors going forward.

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 11:36 PM.

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer