How Will Wade, NC State basketball prepared for the Maui Invitational

N.C. State men’s basketball is headed west for the sport’s annual “feast week,” when teams participate in Thanksgiving week tournaments, and the Wolfpack will be making its first appearance in the historic Maui Invitational.

No. 25 N.C. State opens the tournament against Seton Hall at 2:30 p.m. — 9:30 a.m. in Hawaii — on Monday. The Pack has started the season 4-0, with wins over N.C. Central, Alabama-Birmingham, UNC-Greensboro and Virginia Commonwealth, all at home.

N.C. State becomes the third power four school from the Triangle to participate in the event. Athletic Director Boo Corrigan agreed to the program’s participation three years ago, and signed the contract on March 1, 2022, according to the contract obtained by the News & Observer through a public records request. The document was redacted and does not include details about N.C. State’s travel reimbursements or any other benefits.

The Wolfpack’s side of the bracket includes Seton Hall, Boise State and Southern California. Texas, Washington State, Arizona State and Division II host Chaminade are on the other side of the bracket.

“[The contract] was signed way before I got here, but Maui is the second-best tournament right now,” N.C. State head coach Will Wade said on Thursday. “If you look at Players Era — they’ve got the best teams — but Maui has the second-most top 50 teams right now. We’ve got six top-100 teams and four top-50 teams.”

Wade spoke to the media prior to the team’s departure about the team’s first four games, the upcoming stretch and the Pack’s plans.

Preparing for the travel and time change

Members of the Wolfpack staff — led by Director of Performance Greg Goldin, nutritionist Allison Wade, and strength and conditioning coach Steven Soltysiak — worked with data scientists to create the best transition plan for the team’s travel.

“To be frank with you, I don’t understand all of it,” Wade said. “They explain it all to me, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, this sounds good. This is intuitive. This makes sense.’”

Hawaii is five hours behind Raleigh, and the flight will take 10 hours. The team devised a plan to ensure proper hydration, recovery and sleep based on the players’ needs and natural circadian rhythm. Wade said the team evaluated an optimal time for the flight’s arrival — the plane is expected to land at 5:30 p.m. The sun is expected to set at 5:44 p.m.

The transition team also evaluated hydration, meal times, where everyone is sitting, when they are and aren’t allowed to sleep. There will be additional hydration and meals. Wade said the flight cabin will have the overhead lights on when players are supposed to be awake.

N.C. State has a load management plan, as well, which outlined what could be done in practice on Thursday, Friday and once the team arrives this weekend.

“They’ve crunched all the numbers on that, and they’ve done a great job,” Wade said. “We’ll be as prepared and in rhythm as we can.”

The area in which NC State is better than expected

The Wolfpack staff planned for team rebounding struggle, especially early in the season. Through the first four games, the team is averaging 41.5 rebounds per game, and 12 on the offensive glass. Those numbers are in the middle of the ACC; not bad but not elite.

The Pack has a 37.8% offensive rebounding rate, according to KenPom. That ranks No. 51 in the nation. It is holding opponents to a 27.2% offensive rebounding rate, landing at No. 85. Those are also solid numbers, but not where the team wants to be.

N.C. State struggled against UAB and VCU, both among the top 100 teams in college basketball. The Pack gave up 17 offensive rebounds to UAB and 12 to VCU, so Wade and his staff are waiting to see how things look in Maui.

“We look like we’re holding on for dear life sometimes — because we are — against some of these bigger teams,” Wade said. “Our defensive rebounding numbers are better than we were anticipating, and we were anticipating a little bit low. Our defensive rebounding numbers are better than I thought, and our offensive rebounding numbers are a little bit better than I thought. I’d say that’s been a pleasant surprise.”

What to expect from Seton Hall

Seton Hall ranks No. 89 overall in the KenPom rankings and has one of the best defenses in the nation. The Pirates rank, as of Friday, No. 26 in defensive efficiency (98.3), No. 4 in defensive turnover rate (26.7%), No. 1 in defensive block percentage (30.7%) and No. 7 in steal percentage (16.1%).

Last season, Seton Hall upset VCU in the Charleston Classic to open the tournament. Wade said Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway was a “pitbull of a player” and Seton Hall takes on that personality.

The Pirates can block shots and disrupt at the rim. They can pressure and speed up an opponents’ offensive rhythm, forcing them to take difficult shots. Seton Hall is generally an aggressive team that can blow the Wolfpack up, Wade said, if it doesn’t play better than it did against VCU.

“They’re physical. They’re tough,” Wade said. “If we don’t play with a little bit more purpose than we did on Monday night, then we’ll be swimming in the ocean. Hopefully not.”

The Pack could face Boise State or Southern California, depending on the results of the two games, but Wade said N.C. State’s sole priority is Seton Hall.

“I’ve learned in these things, you put everything into the first one,” Wade said. “Then you kind of get the momentum going.”

What else will NC State do in Hawaii?

Wade admits that five years ago, when he was at LSU, he would’ve been all basketball, all the time. He didn’t even see the ocean. He’s operating a little bit differently now. The head coach understands this is a business trip, while recognizing this is a special opportunity.

“This is the first time some of those guys have been. Musa [Sagnia] has no idea where Hawaii is,” Wade said. “We do want to make sure that we have a good experience, and that they have a great experience, and that we have some time to have some fun.”

Ven-Allen Lubin and Tre Holloman participated in the event last season at their previous schools. Lubin, with North Carolina, and Holloman, with Michigan State, played each other in the third game of the week. The Spartans beat the Tar Heels, 94-91, in overtime. Darrion Williams was part of the 2022 Texas Tech team that was included in the Maui field. Quadir Copeland also went in 2023 as a sophomore at Syracuse.

Everyone else, however, will make their first trip to the tournament. Wade said the team will have a boat cruise and dinner on Saturday night. The organizers hold a luau on Sunday evening. There are a lot of implications for the season, Wade said, so he’s going to encourage everyone to be focused and present — whether at practice, during the game or when they have downtime.

“If we lose, it’ll be, ‘Why’d you put them on the boat, coach? Should’ve had them practicing,’” Wade joked. “But we are gonna try to have a little bit of an experience. I think that’s important. Five years ago, there would have been no telling what we’d be doing, not on a boat.”