NC State basketball hammers Wake Forest. Wolfpack continues road ACC success

N.C. State men’s basketball knew its mission going into Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon. It didn’t want to simply build on the first meeting against its in-state rival; the team wanted to look completely different.

The Wolfpack got its wish in a 96-78 win, sweeping the Demon Deacons this season and handing the home team its fourth consecutive loss. Wake Forest has lost six of its last seven games after starting the season well.

N.C. State (16-6, 7-2) opened the ACC slate with a 13-point win over Wake Forest at home on Dec. 31, holding the in-state rival under 60 points, but wasn’t pleased with its offensive performance. It finished with 70 points — only three players finished in double figures — and scored under 40 points in both halves.

According to KenPom, the Pack’s Round 1 outing against Wake featured the program’s lowest offensive efficiency (97.7) in a win this season. N.C. State also finished with its highest number of turnovers (15) and largest turnover rate (20.9%) in ACC play.

“It was our worst performance of the year,” Wolfpack head coach Will Wade said Thursday during his weekly radio show. “Turned the ball over too much. Took bad shots. We were 1 of 13 on mid-range shots. We took some poor shots. We’ve got to get a better shot diet. We’ve got to take better shots. We’ve got to work harder against their ball screen coverage. Their ball screen coverage is ultra-aggressive, and it bothered us. We’ve got to do a much better job there.”

Despite starting 0-4 from the field Saturday, the Wolfpack quickly turned things around after the first media timeout. It went on a 9-0 run to take its first lead and steadily built a double-digit advantage.

The 3-point shooting deserves attention (more on that in a bit), but several offensive numbers improved in Round 2 of the series.

N.C. State finished with more assists (19), fewer turnovers (8), better field goal shooting (54.1%) and more second chance-points (11).

The defensive effort wavered in the second half, when the Wolfpack allowed the Deacs (11-11, 2-7) to cut its 19-point lead to seven points. It gave up 47 second-half points. N.C. State, however, outscored Wake Forest 32-21 in the final 11 minutes of play to end the game two points shy of a 20-point advantage.

Paul McNeil led the Wolfpack with 28 points, while Darrion Williams finished with 20 points.

Ven-Allen Lubin (12 points) and Tre Holloman (11) also finished in double figures.

“If that’s what Coach wants, we get the job done,” McNeil said of the better offensive performance. “Ain’t too much to say about it. It’s just plain and simple. We know what we’ve gotta do. Whatever Coach wants us to do, we gotta do it.”

Pack dominates from 3

When N.C. State opened ACC play against Wake Forest, its 3 ball was nowhere to be found.

The Wolfpack shot 6 of 21 (28.6%) from distance in the New Year’s Eve matchup at Lenovo Center, with McNeil and Williams combining for 4 of 11 (36.4%). The rest of the team shot 2 of 10 (20%).

It looked like that trend would continue when the Wolfpack started 0-4 from the field, with two missed 3s. Then, the Pack turned it on from the perimeter.

N.C. State surpassed its 3-point total from Game 1 after 12 minutes of play, shooting 7 of 11 (63.6%) from the arc. By halftime, the Wolfpack had made 9 of 15 (60%) baskets from downtown.

McNeil and Williams both went 3 of 5 (60%) to pace the Pack.

Successful shooting from the perimeter created a 9-0 N.C. State run after a cold start from the field. It also allowed the Pack to create a 17-point lead.

McNeil was also fouled on a 3-point attempt. It won’t officially go down as a made 3, but he hit his trio of free throws to help his team.

Wade knows it’s unlikely the team will shoot over 50% every game, but he’s pleased with the kinds of shots his players took.

“We can’t control how we shoot it every night, but we can control the quality of the shots that we get,” Wade said. “I can think of two or three that were pretty poor, but all the rest of our quality of 3s, I think, were pretty good. I focus on what we can control, which is the quality of our shots. I think that our shot quality was solid today.”

Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons started 1 of 5 (20%) from deep and did not hit their second 3-pointer until Tre’Von Spillers made his first basket nearly 15 minutes into the game. The Deacs went 3-8 (37.5%) in the first half.

N.C. State’s 3-point shooting success continued into the second half, finishing 16 of 28 (57.1%) on its long-range attempts.

Wake Forest went 7 of 20 (35%) from 3.

Harris dominates for the Deacs

Juke Harris was the primary scoring threat for Wake Forest, and the Demon Deacons needed every bit of his effort.

Harris led all scorers with a career-high 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting, with 16 coming in the second half. He scored five points during Wake Forest’s 10-2 second-half run that cut the Wolfpack’s 15-point lead to seven.

The sophomore guard leads the team with 20.4 points scored per game, ranking No. 3 in the ACC and No. 22 in the nation.

Harris also contributed seven rebounds, one assist and a pair of steals.

There’s something to be said about feeding the hot hand, but N.C. State limited Spillers and Myles Colvin when the Deacs desperately needed points. The two players, who average double figures, finished with seven and nine points, respectively.

Wake Forest was already at a disadvantage without the services of Nate Calamese, who averages in double figures. Calamese serves as the Deacs’ primary distributor and court general. Wake struggled at times without him on the floor.

Had Harris not put up major numbers, the Wolfpack’s advantage could have been far larger.

Copeland dishes dimes

Much of N.C. State’s recent success has come thanks to the hands of Quadir Copeland. The senior guard has come into his own as a ball distributor, even when he’s not playing at point guard, and that has led to big wins.

It was especially clear in the first half. The ball moved well and N.C. State’s offense found a rhythm thanks to his contributions.

Copeland recorded eight assists in the opening 20 and helped the Pack score 49 points before the break. The team had 11 assists on 17 made field goals, including three assists on the first three shots.

His usage dropped in the second half because of foul trouble, but his teammates helped fill in the gaps. Holloman, McNeil and Ven-Allen Lubin all contributed multiple assists without a turnover.

Copeland finished with 10 assists and one turnover, one of his best performances of the season. It followed a 19-point, nine-assist game against Syracuse and a 20-point, nine-assist performance at Pittsburgh.

The Wolfpack is now 9-4 when Copeland dishes out at least six assists. He entered the game averaging 6.3 assists per game this season. In ACC play, however, he leads the conference with 7.3 assists per outing. His ability to see the floor and find the open man continue to benefit the Wolfpack.

“Those guys were tremendous,” Wade said Saturday. “It takes a second. We had three turnovers before the first media [timeout], just adjusting to their hand angles and some of our hook passing.

“Our guys did a good job adjusting. And I felt like we were a lot cleaner with our passing today.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 2:18 PM.