NC State men’s basketball routs UNCG. What we learned about the Wolfpack

It took four minutes and 22 seconds of game time before N.C. State’s home game against UNC-Greensboro, which the Wolfpack eventually won 110-64, to descend into chaos on Wednesday night.

Starters for both teams were separated by officials and their respective coaching staffs after an on-court altercation.

Wolfpack guard Paul McNeil hit the ground after he was fouled by Spartans guard KJ Younger on a 3-point shot. Antwann Jones, another guard, appeared to step over him in the process.

As Quadir Copeland and Tre Holloman helped McNeil off the ground, Jones appeared to shove Holloman and Copeland. They retaliated, with their own shoves, and Holloman appeared to verbally confront UNCG head coach Mike Jones. Mike Jones said after the game he felt a push as he corrected his own player.

Officials ejected Holloman for his actions after a long review, a decision with which N.C. State head coach Will Wade strongly disagreed. Copeland also received a technical foul. McNeil received three free throws for the initial foul, before the Spartans hit four free throws and retained possession. “[Holloman] reached through and slapped an opposing player in the face,” according to the officials statement provided to reporters after the game. “My ruling was a Flagrant 2 ejection, technical.” Officials told Wade Holloman pushed another player, which the coach thinks happened. However, he also thinks there were things that led up to that.

“We’ve got to be smarter,” Wade said. “Can’t have guys getting kicked out of games, but we’ll take it.”

Mike Jones holds no ill will toward Holloman or the other players, saying they were “fired up to play” and there was trash talking from the beginning of the game. Holloman also reportedly thought Mike Jones said he couldn’t shoot.

“It wasn’t me. I wasn’t talking. I just thought good, competitive juices were flowing with them right from the beginning,” Mike Jones said. “When they came to the bench, the coaches told me that Holloman had hit one of our players. I guess the tape revealed that. I didn’t see the tape, but they ended up ejecting him and giving a technical to Copeland.

“It’s competition, you know, it’s what it is,” Mike Jones said. “Guys get into it a little bit. The juices flow a little bit. Sometimes you do things from an emotional standpoint. I think that’s all it was. I don’t think there were bad kids or anything like that. I think it was just an emotional reaction.”

The skirmish was not ruled a fight, Wade said, so Holloman will not be suspended for the next game.

Foul issues didn’t improve much as the game progressed. N.C. State went into the locker room — one hour and 15 minutes after tipoff — with 15 fouls. Copeland and Jerry Deng led the team with three fouls apiece. McNeil and Ven-Allen Lubin were each called for two. Those fouls led to 17 made free throws by the Spartans, or 46% of their first-half points.

The officials remained active on the whistle early in the second half. Lubin was called for his third foul one minute and two seconds into the second half. Darrion Williams received his second call six seconds later.

Wade said one of the team goals is to make more free throws than the opponent attempts. N.C. State finished with 18 of 23 from the line, while UNCG made 26 of 41. The Spartans missed 11 free throws in the first half.

“Our defensive efficiency tonight was great, except for the fouling,” Wade said, noting its inside shooting. “That’s the biggest statistical anomaly you’ll ever see. … We were just walking them to the free throw line.”

N.C. State ultimately took control of the game, in spite of the foul calls, and the stoppages dwindled as the Wolfpack margin grew. The chaos and dramatics continued, albeit in a different fashion.

The Wolfpack overcame what looked like a dicey start to post a 46-point win over the Spartans and move to 3-0 this season. It out-scored the in-state opponent, 63-27, after the half after holding a 47-37 lead going into the locker room.

Led by Williams, the ACC’s preseason player of the year, N.C. State went on a 23-0 run midway through the second half and led by as many as 48 points.

Williams finished with a double-double, scoring a career-high 32 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He added two assists and four steals, while shooting 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

McNeil contributed a career high 27 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. Copeland added 13 points, three rebounds and six assists without a turnover. As a team, N.C. State only committed four turnovers.

Here’s what we learned about the Wolfpack from its latest win:

Alyn Breed plays significant minutes

McNeese State transfer Alyn Breed played the most minutes on Wednesday he had since Nov. 11, 2024, when the Cowboys played at Alabama.

Breed entered the game out of necessity due to Holloman’s ejection and Terrance Areceneaux’s health. Arceneaux did not play due to a nagging Achilles injury. He played limited minutes in the opener for this reason, as well. The staff knew he would play in Arceneaux’s absence, but they didn’t expect to need him for 27 minutes.

“I told him, ‘Look, man, you don’t need to prove anything to me. I know how good you are. Just go out there and be yourself,’” Wade said. “I was trying to take some pressure off, because he wants to hit a grand slam every time. … He was just smooth. He was what we needed.”

Despite his limited playing time in the last year, Breed made an immediate impact for the Wolfpack, providing a calming presence during dramatic and stressful points in the game.

He hit two free throws with seven minutes remaining in the first half to put the Wolfpack five points. About four minutes later, he made a layup through traffic to give his team an 11-point lead.

“If everybody knew what he’d been through and everything he’s gone through just to get back to this point to play, [it’s] just incredible,” Wade said. “I’m really proud of him.”

Breed finished with four points, four rebounds and four assists without committing a turnover.

“It means a lot, man,” Breed said. “I’ve been with Wade almost two years. He’s got a lot of faith in me, and I’ve got a lot of faith for him. I knew my time would come. I knew I had step up for my teammates today, so I just made sure I went out there, I played hard and did the best I could.”

The guard followed Wade from McNeese and played two games for the Cowboys before a season-ending injury. Breed averaged 17.5 points and three rebounds in the two contests. In the loss against the Crimson Tide, Breed contributed 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and six steals. Prior to McNeese, Breed spent three seasons at Providence but never averaged more than five points per game.

The graduate student played five minutes in the N.C. State season opener, when he scored two points and dished out a pair of assists. Wade said Breed has seen multiple specialists and physical therapists during his recovery process. The sports medicine staff officially cleared Breed to play earlier this fall.

“It’s hard to keep showing up every day if you don’t ever know if you’re gonna be able to play again. That’s hard to do,” Wade said. “For him to be able to do that, see him rewarded and play in front of this crowd and be able to perform well was really, really nice.”

Pack runs the paint

N.C. State outworked the Spartans in the lane with ease, significantly out-scoring and out-rebounding UNCG.

The Wolfpack finished with a 42-8 scoring advantage in the paint, its largest margin of the season.

It also out-rebounded the visitors, 43-33, surpassing its season average of 39 rebounds per game. The Wolfpack finished with nine offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points. The numbers, however, were a reflection of won’t show up on the stat sheet. N.C. State played with more toughness and grit inside than it has all season.

“I thought that they were tougher than us. I thought their tough players were tougher than our tough players. That made a big difference,” Mike Jones said. “At halftime, I think that number was 20 in the paint, and a lot of it was offensive rebounding, but in the second half, it was everything.”

Jones said the “dam bust” and the Wolfpack did whatever it wanted in the lane. Players grabbed offensive boards, they drove to the cup and backed guys down. His team is relatively new and young, whereas N.C. State’s roster has a lot of experience.

“They just took it to us,” Jones said.

N.C. State’s schedule will get harder starting next week, but his will be something the Wolfpack can build on going forward.

Copeland is the heart of the Wolfpack

Before the season started, Will Wade complimented Quadir Copeland’s growth as a team leader. While the McNeese and Syracuse transfer is known for his big personality, members of the program say he’s channeled that into good for the team.

When he’s on the floor, Copeland plays a key role in directing traffic on offense and defense. He encourages his teammates. And, he can make plays. On the bench, the senior continues his verbal support and is, on many occasions, one of the first players to greet his teammates when they come to the bench during timeouts.

“He allows me to be Q,” Copeland said of Wade in September. “I don’t feel like I wouldn’t be that leader if I didn’t talk. I’ve got to be able to talk. I’ve got to be building confidence in players. I’ve got to be checking to make sure everybody’s good.”

While he received the first half technical for defending his teammate, Copeland still showed leadership by using his voice and making plays down the stretch. His maturity was also on display when he helped an opposing player off the court.

Wade brought Copeland to Raleigh for many reasons, but his maturation is one of the more underrated qualities.

“Q is one of a kind. I think if you’re around him enough, you’ll understand that,” Williams said. “His energy and relentlessness throughout the game — me and him were just talking about trying to bring the energy. I think the energy was slacking in the beginning. He didn’t start the second half, but when he was coming in, he was ready to go. And, he was trying to make sure we were ready from the bench.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 10:36 PM.

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer