Virginia Humbles NC State at Home

Virginia’s defense had the NC State offense in proverbial jail throughout the first half. The Wolfpack failed to get any quality looks from outside and inside, as the Cavaliers’ size dissuaded the smaller Pack players from attacking consistently. Odom’s team chased Wolfpack guard Paul McNeil off the 3-point line well, holding him to just one attempt from deep in the first half. 

With no room to operate in the lanes, Quadir Copeland wasn’t able to penetrate as effectively as he did in the win over Wake Forest. In a word, the Wolfpack was discombobulated. The issue was compounded by the fact that Virginia had success on the other end. The Pack walked into the locker room at the end of the first half, shooting 31% from the field, with just one make from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. 

The 20 points for the Wolfpack were far and away the fewest of the 2025-26 season in a half, as the previous low was 33 points in the loss to Seton Hall at the Southwest Maui Invitational. While the second half saw more success, NC State still finished the game shooting 36% from the field, one of the worst outputs of the year.

Another surprise from the opponent 

NC State’s habit of being surprised by the 3-point shooting of one player on the opposing roster continued in Saturday’s matchup against the Cavaliers. Junior guard Sam Lewis went scoreless in the triple overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Coming into the matchup against the Wolfpack, Lewis was averaging just 8.8 points per game. 

The morning tip didn’t bother Lewis like it did NC State’s shooters. He buried seven of his first eight shots, including four makes from 3-point range, scoring 20 points in the first half. He averaged 16.2 points as a sophomore at Toledo, but took a backseat in the first 13 games of the season as a Cavalier. NC State’s switch-centric defense struggled to contain him while also protecting the paint from Virginia’s size. 

Lewis finished the game with 23 points, scoring just three in the second half, but the damage was already done. His first-half explosion allowed Virginia to play comfortably in the second half, while the Wolfpack’s best shot was stringing together enough stops to chip away. NC State just couldn’t do it consistently. 

The push 

There was little doubt that NC State would continue playing so sluggishly in the second half after a halftime discussion in the locker room with Wade. Even without senior guard Tre Holloman, who left the game in the first half with an apparent lower leg injury, the Wolfpack made its push early in the second half. 

The Pack ripped off a 15-2 run to cut the Virginia lead to as few as nine points before the Cavaliers stopped the bleeding with a couple of layups before the under-16-minute media timeout. McNeil got things going, even cutting the deficit to as few as eight points with a corner three, but Virginia’s size continued to get the better of NC State’s defense inside.

The Cavaliers pushed the lead back to 16 points just after the 12-minute mark, a lead that felt insurmountable for the Wolfpack, given the way the defense had played up to that point. NC State stuck with the full-court pressure, but Virginia hunted matchups it wanted and used 7-foot center Johann Grünloh to clear out guards with switches, allowing free baseline drives to the basket for layups or dump-offs. 

Eventually, Virginia went on an 8-0 run in less than a minute to put itself back up by 22, essentially ending any hopes of a miraculous Wolfpack comeback. Thijs De Ridder, who finished the game with 14 points, made four of his shots in a row in the second half and slowly made an impact on the win for the Cavaliers. 

Final word 

NC State didn’t get the offensive performances it needed from key players outside of Copeland, who scored 15, and McNeil, who finished with 13. Darrion Williams’ shooting struggles continued, primarily due to his inability to find good looks rather than missing them. He made just three of his eight shot attempts for seven points. 

Now, the Wolfpack will be back squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, having missed out on a key home opportunity. Wade’s squad will try to get things turned around against Boston College on Tuesday.

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