NC State’s late-game woes appear in ACC Tournament loss to Virginia
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wolfpack repeatedly lost late leads, costing wins in ACC play and tournament.
- Turnovers, missed shots and defensive lapses let opponents rally.
- NCAA bid likely as a No. 10 seed; team must fix details, discipline and consistency.
Members of the N.C. State media contingent heard in press conferences all season about the six-minute game. It heard how the team practiced it daily and the importance of winning those final possessions.
Down the stretch, though, that talk very rarely materialized.
Instead, the Wolfpack finished the regular season and its ACC Tournament trip with five blown leads. It squandered an advantage during the infamous six-minute game twice, notably its 67-second collapse against Miami on Feb. 14 and its five-minute slide against Notre Dame, resulting in an overtime win by the Fighting Irish on Feb. 28.
N.C. State’s inability to close out reappeared in its 81-74 loss to Virginia on Thursday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The Cavaliers erased a two-possession deficit and created a 12-point second-half lead against the Wolfpack. In previous games, N.C. State had allowed large leads to balloon and snowball out of reach.
This time, the Wolfpack had an opportunity to pull an upset but failed to capitalize.
“We’ve been in a lot of late game situations this season,” said senior guard Quadir Copeland. “We’ve got so much to learn from, not just this game. We’ve got so much film to learn from, so much stuff to watch. … I think we understand that when we get to the six-minute games, that’s our thing. We work on it every day. It’s just harping on the details, protecting the ball, no turnovers, and just keep working; being the stronger playing and the hardest-minded team.”
N.C. State’s defense and 3-point shooting allowed the team to stay within striking distance and cut the lead to four points. It seemed like the momentum favored N.C. State.
Little things cost NC State in the end
It coughed up possession, at Copeland’s hands, with less than two minutes remaining. The squad allowed the Hoos to pull down a pair of offensive boards in the final four minutes. And, a held ball that could’ve been a Wolfpack defensive rebound turned into another UVA possession.
Wade’s crew also missed its last three shots, and four of its last five, unable to capitalize on several solid defensive plays. Virginia’s Ugonna Onyenso blocked two in the last four minutes.
“In a critical game like this, if you want to advance, those little details, being able to focus for a full 40, being disciplined; it all matters,” N.C. State senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin said. “They’re a very good team, and you can’t win without the focus and effort that we gave them today. I think that’s what kept us close. I think it was just that maybe that one lapse in the second half where they went on a little run, that was the difference.”
The Pack played with a sense of urgency it hadn’t shown for much of the season. That was also a key factor in its ability to make a late push, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the mistakes and missed opportunities down the stretch.
Wolfpack showed fight
N.C. State head coach Will Wade praised his team for its fight and edge, saying it hasn’t possessed that level of effort at any other point this season.
“It’s tough to correct all the details, and it’s tough to correct all the little things when you’re coaching effort, and trying to get effort from guys,” Wade said. “Hopefully this will be a point where we can take this film and say, this is the effort that we need, and now we can coach some of the details and get better at the details.”
Freshman guard Matt Able and senior guard Quadir Copeland were both pleased with the growth and think this is a performance the team can build on.
The loss, however, still hurts just as much, if not worse than the two blowouts. Because, at the end of the day, it lost to Virginia for a third time and was bounced from the tournament.
“We’re not playing to show improvements and still lose at the end of the day,” Copeland said. “I think our team knows that the reason we’re all feeling like this is because we knew we could win. Not that we knew we could be in a fight with them.”
N.C. State remains in the NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and News & Observer correspondent Patrick Stevens. It’s expected to be a No. 10 seed, though a First Four game in Dayton is not completely out of the question.
Regardless of where it’s headed, Lubin said the team is grateful it will have another opportunity to play. Thursday showed what’s possible; that the Wolfpack can hang around with the big dogs. N.C. State just needs to take the next step.
That hinges on the details, discipline, effort and consistency. Those won’t be completely corrected by the time it takes the floor again next weekend, but maybe it can make enough tweaks to win a few games.
