How NC State’s defensive collapse at Notre Dame could cost Pack ACC double bye
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Four losses in five games jeopardize ACC double-bye and seeding hopes.
- Defense collapsed: three straight 90+ games; defensive efficiency hits 134.5 vs. ND
- Opponents scored 304 points in N.C. State's last three games.
N.C. State’s men’s basketball team looked like road warriors after its solid start to ACC play.
The Wolfpack opened conference play 6-0 on the road, picking up notable wins against then-No. 18 Clemson and SMU. The Tigers were undefeated at Littlejohn Coliseum when N.C. State pulled off the upset. The Wolfpack, however, has lost three straight road contests since its trip to Dallas.
N.C. State’s level of competition in the six-game stretch was weaker — ACC bottom feeders Pittsburgh and Boston College were on the docket — it still impressed with those Quad 1 wins at Clemson and SMU. Now, it’s dropped a second Quad 2 game, in addition to its Quad 4 loss to Georgia Tech.
“Well, we don’t play on the road anymore,” N.C. State head coach Will Wade said after Saturday’s 96-90 overtime loss at Notre Dame. “We were competitive today. It was a great game; was a back and forth game. Notre Dame made more plays down the stretch. We missed some shots against the zone. … Certainly, Virginia and Louisville, we were not [competitive].”
The recent skid includes four losses in the last five games, its only win was an 82-58 drubbing of a North Carolina team without leading scorers Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
Wade said the team has to “be better.”
Wolfpack defensive struggles
Many factors have played into the recent losses, but a weak defense sits atop of the list.
The defense has been an issue all season, but it hasn’t been this bad. The Wolfpack allowed more than 90 points just once before February. The Wolfpack’s opponents have now eclipsed that mark in three straight road contests. This week alone, N.C. State allowed 186 points — Virginia scored 90 on Tuesday — and 304 in the last three away games (101.1 points per game).
It was the third-worst defensive efficiency (134.5) of the season, according to KenPom, behind only the losses to Louisville and Texas, who both surpassed the century mark in points.
Notre Dame took full advantage of the Wolfpack’s weak defense and finished with a season-high offensive efficiency (134.5). Its 96 points were its second-most against a Power Four opponent this year. The Irish scored 97 in a double overtime loss against Virginia.
Cole Certa and Jalen Haralson combined for 57 points, with Certa dropping 32 on the Pack. Twelve points came in overtime. It was his second 30-point game this month and his seventh consecutive double-figure performance.
N.C. State had opportunities to put a W in the win column, even with Certa and Haralson going off. The Wolfpack led by as many as nine points and was up seven with 3 ½ minutes to go. It was the second blown lead in two weeks after Miami scored eight points in the final minute to beat the Pack, 77-76, on Feb. 14.
Saturday’s game marked the first time the Wolfpack lost a game it lead with five minutes to play. N.C. State had won the previous 19 such occasions.
“We’ve got to be better with the details. We’ve got to be better with our execution,” Wade said on Saturday. “Obviously, we need to have a better plan for what we’re doing, because we’re not getting the job done.”
When the team doesn’t get the job done, Wade said, it falls on his shoulders as the program’s leader.
“That’s on me as a coach to find a scheme, find some things that will do a better job of helping our guys,” Wade said.
Wolfpack is playing poorly at the wrong time
Wade’s statements don’t erase the fact that the losses are coming at a costly time. N.C. State was in a solid position to earn a Top 4 seed in the ACC Tournament coming into the final two weeks of the season. It could afford losing to Virginia and No. 1 Duke if it took care of business against Notre Dame and Stanford. But it lost twice this week and now has a monumental, seemingly impossible task ahead with Duke coming to Lenovo Center on Monday night.
N.C. State remains in contention for a double bye in the ACC Tournament, starting the postseason in the quarterfinal round. But, it can’t afford any more losses and the challenge is fierce. No. 1 Duke throttled Virginia on Saturday; a team that bested the Pack by 29. The Blue Devils have double-digit victories over five teams in the Top 25. That is the most in a single season since 2001-02.
On Saturday, N.C. State closes the regular season against Stanford, which has one of the best freshmen in the nation in guard Ebuka Okorie.
There is no margin for error. And it could still get left out of the top four.
N.C. State needs other games to go in its favor. North Carolina, Clemson, Louisville, SMU, Cal and Florida State are all bunched together in the standings, with only a handful of games separating the top of the group from the bottom. While the Wolfpack can be a Top 4 team, it could also drop to the No. 8 seed.
As for the NCAA Tournament outlook, ESPN’s latest bracketology update has N.C. State as a No. 8 seed in the South Region. But the Pack’s NET ranking will certainly drop and impact the next update.
Wade said the Georgia Tech loss would be hard to recover from resume-wise, but this might have done the team in for any hope of favorable seeding.
