Pack Opens ACC Play Wednesday with Visit from Wake Forest

Wednesday, December 31

Raleigh, NC

12 PM

NC State

Wake Forest

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Pack Opens ACC Play Wednesday with Visit from Wake Forest

12/30/2025 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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NC State Game Notes | Wake Forest Game Notes

RALEIGH N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (9-4) starts Atlantic Coast Conference play on Wednesday when it hosts Wake Forest (9-4).

Tipoff against the Demon Deacons is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised on ESPN2. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State wrapped up non-conference play with a 76-62 win over Ole Miss in First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. The Pack trailed 5-3 early, but an 11-0 gave NC State a lead it would never relinquish. The Pack would lead by as many as 28 points in the second half.
- NC State sophomore guard Paul McNeil, Jr., led NC State in scoring for the second consecutive game, making six three-pointers on his way to a team-best 19 points.
- McNeil, Jr., was named ACC Player of the Week and one of five Oscar Robertson Trophy National Players of the Week after his performances against Texas Southern and Ole Miss from Dec. 15-21. He scored a career-high 47 points, making a school-record and ACC-tying record of 11 three-pointers in the win. McNeil, Jr.'s final stat line was 12-of-18 shooting, 11-of-17 from three and 12-of-12 from the foul line. He also added a career-high 10 rebounds as he posted his first career double-double. McNeil, Jr.'s 47 points are tied with Sammy Ranzino (Jan. 23, 1951 vs. Virginia Tech) for the fifth-most points in a single game in program history and are the most by an ACC player since Rodney Monroe – NC State's all-time leading scorer – had 48 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 13, 1991.
- For the week, McNeil Jr., averaged 33 points per game and made 17 three-pointers, shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from three-point range.
- Ven-Allen Lubin scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting as he has now scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games. Lubin has now shot over 50 percent from the field in every game this season. For the season, Lubin leads the ACC and ranks fourth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 69.0 percent.
- Quadir Copeland stuffed the stat sheet against Ole Miss as he scored 16 points, passed out nine assists and tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds. Over the last seven games, Copeland is averaging 16.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 60.2 percent (41-of-68) from the field. The Philadelphia, Pa., has led the Pack in scoring in three of the last seven games, in assists in six of the last six games and in steals in three of the last seven games.

Wednesday Storylines
- NC State opens its 73rd season of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball when it hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday afternoon. The Pack and Demon Deacons are two of the seven original charter members of the conference that was formed on May 8, 1953.
- NC State has won its ACC opener in each of the past two seasons. A victory Wednesday would mark the program's first three-year streak of 1–0 starts in ACC play since opening league play with wins in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
- Last season, Paul McNeil, Jr., made the first start of his collegiate career when the Pack hosted Wake Forest on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Rockingham native made 8-of-13 shots, including 4-of-7 from long range on his way to a season-best 24 points as the Pack upset Wake Forest, 85-73. In 19 career games up to that point, McNeil had scored 56 points (2.9 ppg.) and had nine three-pointers. Starting with that game against the Demon Deacons - and in the 17 games since then - McNeil, Jr., has scored 231 points (12.8 ppg.) and has made 48 three-pointers.
- Pack's defense stepping up: After NC State's 83-73 loss to Auburn on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Pack's defense was surrendering an average of 77.4 points per game while its opponents shot 44.3 percent from the field. In the five games since the game against the Tigers, NC State is limiting opponents to a combined 39.2 percent shooting while giving up just 63.8 points per game.
- NC State ranks 32nd in the most recent NET rankings through games of December 28. NC State's average opponent NET rank though 13 games is 139 which ranks tied with Duke for the toughest of any ACC team. Seven of the Pack's 13 non-conference games this season are currently Q1 or Q2 games. The seven Q1/Q2 games are the most of any ACC team and the Pack's four Q1 games are second only to Duke for the most of any ACC team. The ACC has positioned itself well in non-conference play this season. As of the current NET rankings, NC State will have nine Q1 and three Q2 opportunities in conference action.
- Protect the ball: NC State has had single digit turnovers in five of its last seven games, but will get a stiff test on Wednesday against a Wake Forest defense that is second in the ACC in forcing opponent turnovers (15.7 per game) and steals (9.5 per game).
- Pick Your Poison: NC State has had five different players score 20-plus points in a game this season, tied for the most in the ACC. Four Wolfpack players (Quadir Copeland, Ven-Allen Lubin, Paul McNeil, Jr., and Darrion Williams) have reached the 20-point mark in multiple games—tied with Cal for the most of any team in the ACC. NC State is the only school in the ACC that has had two different players score over 30 points in a game this season (Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil, Jr.)
- Ven has been unstoppable in second half of games this season: A missed shot midway through the second half against Liberty on Dec. 10 snapped a streak of 24 consecutive made second half field goals for Ven-Allen Lubin. His streak started with two makes against Boise State in the second half on Nov. 25, the next day he was 6-6 against Texas in the second half, he then went 3-3 at Auburn, 9-9 against UNC Asheville and made his first four second half field goal attempts against Liberty before finally missing a second half shot. In 13 games this season, Lubin is shooting 80.8 percent (42-of-52) from the field in the second half. He's also made 14-of-his-16 free throw attempts in the final 20 minutes of games this season which means his second half shooting splits are 80.8/50/87.5.
- Second Half Pack: NC State is averaging 47.1 points and shooting 53.4 percent from the field in the second half of its 13 games this season. In addition to Lubin's second half efforts mentioned above, Quadir Copeland has also been fantastic in the second half as he's shot 64.0 percent (32-of-50) in the second half of games this season.
- Win the Boards, win the game? The Pack is 8-0 when it outrebounds its opponent and 1-4 when it is outrebounded this season.

NC State series with Wake Forest
- Saturday will be the 263rd all-time meeting between NC State and Wake Forest.
- NC State leads the all-time series, 152-110.
- The Pack has a 20-6 advantage over the Demon Deacons in games played at the Lenovo Center.
- Last Meeting (February 22, 2025): NC State hit a season-high 13 three-pointers on its way to beating Wake Forest, 85-73, in Raleigh. Paul McNeil Jr., made the first start of his career and delivered the best performance of his freshman season as he finished with a career-best 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Michael O'Connell passed out a career-best 13 assists and added nine points. O'Connell's 13 assists are the most for an NC State player since Markell Johnson had 14 against Miami on Jan. 21, 2018.