NC State falls to Kansas in overtime. What we learned from the Wolfpack’s loss

N.C. State remains winless against Power Four teams after it was unable to hold off No. 19 Kansas at home.

The Wolfpack (7-4) fell to the Jayhawks, 77-76, in overtime Saturday night at Lenovo Center after Darrion Williams missed two consecutive 3s in the final three seconds that could have won the game. “The play was for me. I just got it, I missed it,” Williams said of his final 3-point attempt as the clock expired. “I’m gonna make it next time.”

Williams finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, scoring eight in overtime. He also helped the Wolfpack rally to get the game to the extra period. With 20.5 seconds left in regulation, Williams hit his first 3 of the game to tie the game at 66 and send it into overtime.

Melvin Council, however, was Kansas’ big star — and the Pack had no answer for him. The senior led the Jayhawks with a career-high 36 points, including 16 straight to end the second half and start overtime. He shot 9 of 15 from 3.

Entering the game, Council was averaging 10.7 points per game. He had made just five 3s this season on 18.5% shooting.

Ven-Allen Lubin said the scouting report was to “sag off” on Council because of his 3-point efficiency.

Kansas head coach Bill Self thought it was a “pretty sound” defensive philosophy considering Council’s numbers until this game.

Ultimately, the guard put on “probably the best performance that I think that I’ve had on the road in my 23 years at Kansas,” Self said. “He was unbelievable. And made hard shots. They dared him, shoot.”

Quadir Copeland was the best overall player for the Wolfpack, scoring 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting while adding eight rebounds and six assists.

Lubin continued his impressive stretch for N.C. State with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. It was his third of the season. Lubin entered the game scoring in double figures for seven straight games and made it eight against the Jayhawks. In the past four, the North Carolina transfer averaged 17.8 points on 72.5% shooting.

“We’ve got to continue to develop those guys behind him, but he’s been phenomenal,” Wade said. “He’s unbelievably consistent, unbelievable hard worker, just a tremendous, tremendous person.”

Kansas (8-3) was at full strength with Darryn Peterson, who recently returned from a lingering hamstring injury. He scored 17 points in 17 minutes to help the Jayhawks beat Missouri, 80-60, last Sunday. The freshman is expected to be one of the top three overall NBA Draft picks in the spring. He played in the first two games before missing the next seven.

Peterson leads the team with 20 points per game and made a trio of 3s in each game this season. He was held to five points in the first half and was relegated to more of a passing role.

In the second half, Peterson found the cup with relative ease. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

The first half was at times a rough watch for both benches and viewers, even for fans of stalwart defense. It took nearly nine minutes for both teams to reach 11 points.

Kansas led by as many as seven with two minutes remaining in the opening period, using a 7-0 run to break a 23-23 tie. After NC State coach Will Wade called timeout, the Wolfpack responded with its own 7-0 run that featured one of its two first-half 3-pointers and a put-back layup from Williams.

N.C. State and Kansas went to the locker room tied at 30 after the teams made 11 field goals each. No member of the Wolfpack scored in double figures prior to the break.

The second-half Wolfpack offense still struggled at times, but made key plays to keep itself in the game.

“These ones suck to lose. You want to win these close ones, but I think, I think we’re better for it,” Williams said. “And I just want to thank the fans, 19,000 coming out. They helped us a lot throughout this game. Without them, who knows what it would have been. We appreciated them.”

Pack 3s don’t fall consistently

N.C. State started 0 for 5 from long range before Tre Holloman made the first 3-point basket five minutes into the game. The Pack missed its next 10 before Paul McNeil hit the team’s second 3 with 1:11 remaining in the first half.

The Wolfpack finished the opening period 2 of 18 (11.1%) from the arc. It shot better in the second half, but still finished 9 of 34.

Williams hit clutch 3s down the stretch, but his final attempt didn’t fall, which could have given the Wolfpack a late lead.

While a dip in 3-point shooting was not particularly surprising, the depth of the inefficiency was unexpected. N.C. State ranked No. 14 in the country for 3-point percentage (40%), while Kansas ranked No. 3 for 3-point defense (25%).

On the other side, Kansas started 1 for 5 from downtown. It finally found a semblance — though that description is a stretch — of offensive rhythm midway through the first half. The Jayhawks ended the half 4 of 18 from outside (22.2%), which was 11.8 percentage points lower than is typical.

KU was far more efficient from 3 after the break, going 6 of 11 — led by Council — in the second half of regulation.

Questionable decision-making, offensive uncertainty

Considering the lack of 3-point offense, there were plenty of times the Wolfpack left viewers scratching their heads. N.C. State seemed to chuck up 3s, even when it was clear they weren’t falling.

Meanwhile, most of its offense came from inside the arc. The Wolfpack scored 18 first-half points in the paint and drew plenty of fouls. Copeland and Lubin scored a combined five points on 100% free-throw shooting in the first 20 minutes.

With Flory Budinga in foul trouble, N.C. State had an opportunity to take control of the interior. It was baffling to watch the Wolfpack continue to shoot 3s instead of packing the paint and daring the Jayhawks to play more physical defense when it had the option.

“I think it’s just one of the off nights,” Lubin said. “It was one of the nights that shots didn’t really fall. We have to find another way to put the ball in the basket, whether that’s some free throws or getting the ball in the paint and not to rely too much on our 3-pointer.”

In the second half, Holloman hit a 3-pointer off the dribble with roughly four seconds on the shot clock. The basket was a result of the team seemingly not having a play drawn up and the offense unsure of what to do. Copeland also bailed his crew out by creating plays when it looked like the offense was uncertain.

NC State shows strong rebounding effort

The Wolfpack knew it would take a monumental effort to hang around with Kansas, and rebounding was one of the biggest concerns.

Kansas averaged 39.1 rebounds per game in its first 10 contests, roughly three more per game than the Wolfpack (36.2). The Jayhawks were especially good on the defensive glass, pulling down 29.7 rebounds per game, or 3.3 more than N.C. State’s defensive rebounding (26.4).

Additionally, Kansas ranked No. 27 on KenPom.com for only allowing opponents to pull down 27% of their offensive rebounding opportunities.

The Wolfpack on Saturday was active off the glass, on both ends of the floor.

It finished with 44 total rebounds and 11 on the offensive end. Kansas ended the game with 46 rebounds.

N.C. State, which has struggled with rebounding all year, set a new standard for itself — statistically and for its intensity — going forward.

This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 8:11 PM.

Jadyn Watson-Fisher

The News & Observer