North Carolina State University Athletics
Saturday, December 6
Raleigh, NC
1 PM
NC State
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UNC Asheville
Pack Returns Home to Host UNC Asheville Saturday
12/5/2025 1:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The CW | Live Stats | Tickets
NC State Game Notes | UNC Asheville Game Notes
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team returns home to host UNC Asheville on Saturday afternoon after not having a home game for the last 19 days.
Tipoff against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on The CW. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
- The Pack fell to 20th-ranked Auburn, 83-73, Wednesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Auburn shot 59.1 from the field (26-of-44), 54.5 percent from three (12-of-22) and 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the foul line in the win. All three of those stats were season-highs for an NC State opponent. For NC State, the Pack shot a season-low 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field, tied for its season-low in three-point percentage at 33.3 percent (10-of-30) and had season-lows in free throws made (11) and free throw attempts (13) in the loss.
- Even with Wednesday's offensive output, NC State continues to rank near the top in the ACC in scoring (2nd - 91.0 ppg), field goal percentage (3rd - 50.2%), 3-point percentage (1st - 41%) and free throw percentage (1st - 76.8%).
- NC State forced Auburn into 20 turnovers and had 14 steals on Wednesday night. Both turnovers forced and steals were season-highs for the Pack. Eight different players had a steal for NC State with Matt Able and Quadir Copeland tying for team-high honors with three apiece.
- Quadir Copeland led the Pack with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Auburn. In NC State's previous game against Texas in the Maui Invitational, Copeland scored a career-high 28 points. The back-to-back efforts over 20 points marked the first time in Copeland's collegiate career (95 games) that he has scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games. In the last two games combined, Copeland is averaging 25 points on 69.2 percent shooting (18-of-26) and is averaging 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
- Tre Holloman added 16 points in the loss to Auburn. He made a season-high four three-pointers against the Tigers and is now shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from three-point range this season. Holloman's three-point percentage is the best in the ACC counting for any players averaging 1.5+ three-pointers made per game.
- Ven-Allen Lubin scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting against Auburn. In three games at Maui, Lubin averaged 16.7 points on 62.5 percent shooting and 10.0 rebounds per game. He led all players in Maui in both offensive rebounds (14) and total rebounds, but had a season-low two rebounds at Auburn as the Pack as a team had a season-low 22 rebounds and had a season-worst -13 rebounding margin.
Saturday Storylines
- NC State is 40th in the first NET rankings of the 2025-26 season which were released on Dec. 1. Through the games of November, NC State has faced the toughest non-conference schedule of any ACC team. Five of the Pack's first eight games this season are currently Q1 or Q2 games. NC State still has five non-conference games remaining and as of the current NET rankings will play one more Q1 game (Dec. 13 vs. Kansas) and one more Q2 game (neutral site game vs. Ole Miss on Dec. 21). While it's currently a Q3 game, the Pack also will face Liberty, the preseason Conference USA favorite, on Dec. 10 in Raleigh.
- NC State head coach Will Wade and UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell were assistant coaches together at VCU for two seasons from 2011-13. VCU went 56-16 in the two seasons the duo coached together and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. Both coaches were also graduate assistants and director of operations at Clemson but at different times. Wade graduated from Clemson in 2005 and was a grad assistant during the 2005-06 season and the director of operations during the 2006-07 season. Morrell was a grad assistant in the 2007-08 season at Clemson and then was the director of operations for two seasons from 2008-10.
- Saturday will mark the 100th game of Ven-Allen Lubin's collegiate career. The Orlando, Fla., native is closing in on being the second current NC State player with 1,000 career points. He enters Saturday with 913 career points (9.2 ppg. average) and is a career 58.9 percent shooter.
- NC State has two of the top field goal percentage players in the ACC, but both players fall just short of making it onto the ACC leaderboard. Ven-Allen Lubin is shooting 64.9 percent (37-of-57) from the field and Quadir Copeland is shooting 62.7 percent (37-of-59) from the field. The players would rank second and third in the ACC in field goal percentage, but both players are averaging 4.6 made field goals per game and you have to average five made field goals per game to qualify for the list.
- Sophomore guard Paul McNeil, Jr., has already passed his scoring marks from last season. As a freshman last season, McNeil., Jr., played in 24 games and scored 101 points (4.2 ppg) and made 16 three-pointers and 19 free throws. Through eight games this season, McNeil, Jr., has scored 107 points (13.4 ppg.) and made 20 three-pointers and is 21-of-24 from the foul line (87.5% - a mark that ranks fifth in the ACC).
- UNC Asheville's leading scorer Justin Wright was high school teammates with former NC State great Terquavion Smith at Farmville Central. The duo helped lead Farmville Central to 42 consecutive wins and a NCHSAA 2A state championship in 2019. Smith played at NC State from 2021-23 and left the Pack to pursue a professional career after two seasons. He scored 1,130 points in an NC State uniform and scored his 1,000th career point in his 58th career game. He was the fastest ACC player to 1,000 career points in 15 seasons.
- Pack's starting unit is giving NC State a lethal offensive punch through the first eight games. NC State's starting lineup (Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin Paul McNeil, Jr., and Darrion Williams) are combining to average 69.7 points per game and shooting an efficient 54.1 percent (186-of-344) from the field, including 47.2 percent (67-of-142) from three-point range. Four of the Pack's starters are shooting 51.9 percent or better from the field.
- On the flip side, the Pack's bench has been struggling the last two games. After averaging 25.8 bench points per game in the first six games of the season, NC State's bench has only scored 16 points total in the last two outings. NC State's bench is shooting a combined 5-of-26 from the field (19.2%), including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range.
- Watch the foul trouble - NC State is last in the ACC and 328th in the NCAA in fouls, averaging to be called for 20.5 fouls per game. In the last four games (Pack is 1-3 in its last four games), NC State has committed 24 more fouls than its opponents. That foul differential has led to 25 more free throw attempts for NC State's opponents in the last four games. In its three losses this season, NC State has been outscored by a total of 26 points. The Pack is -20 to its opponents at the foul line in its three losses.
- After starting the season by outrebounding its first four opponents, NC State has been outrebounded in its last four games.
- NC State scored a season-high 46 paint points last Wednesday against Texas and outscored the Longhorns by 26 points in the paint. For the season, NC State is averaging 34.3 paint points per game and only once this season (vs. Seton Hall) has the Pack been outscored in the paint.
- Get Darrion Williams back on track. Williams averaged 23.3 points per game and shot 61.1 percent from the field, including 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from three-point range in NC State's first four games of the season. In the last four games, Williams is averaging 12.3 points per game and is shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from three-point range.
NC State series with UNC Asheville
- Saturday will be the 20th all-time meeting between NC State and UNC Asheville. NC State has won the previous 19 meetings.
- NC State's all-time leading scorer Rodney Monroe set the program's single-game three-point record in a win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 21, 1989, making nine three-pointers in the Pack's 110-70 win.
- NC State scored 120 points in a win over UNC Asheville on Dec. 20, 1995. It's the most points for the Pack in a single game in the last 35 seasons and counting. The closest NC State has come to that point total since then is 116 points in a win over Jacksonville in December 2017 and this year's season-opener when NC State scored 114 points in the Will Wade era-opener against NC Central.
- Last Meeting (November 13, 2018): NC State defeated UNC Asheville, 100-47, as the Pack held UNC Asheville to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers in victory. Devon Daniels led five NC State players in double figures with 20 po
NC State Game Notes | UNC Asheville Game Notes
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team returns home to host UNC Asheville on Saturday afternoon after not having a home game for the last 19 days.
Tipoff against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on The CW. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
- The Pack fell to 20th-ranked Auburn, 83-73, Wednesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Auburn shot 59.1 from the field (26-of-44), 54.5 percent from three (12-of-22) and 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the foul line in the win. All three of those stats were season-highs for an NC State opponent. For NC State, the Pack shot a season-low 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the field, tied for its season-low in three-point percentage at 33.3 percent (10-of-30) and had season-lows in free throws made (11) and free throw attempts (13) in the loss.
- Even with Wednesday's offensive output, NC State continues to rank near the top in the ACC in scoring (2nd - 91.0 ppg), field goal percentage (3rd - 50.2%), 3-point percentage (1st - 41%) and free throw percentage (1st - 76.8%).
- NC State forced Auburn into 20 turnovers and had 14 steals on Wednesday night. Both turnovers forced and steals were season-highs for the Pack. Eight different players had a steal for NC State with Matt Able and Quadir Copeland tying for team-high honors with three apiece.
- Quadir Copeland led the Pack with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Auburn. In NC State's previous game against Texas in the Maui Invitational, Copeland scored a career-high 28 points. The back-to-back efforts over 20 points marked the first time in Copeland's collegiate career (95 games) that he has scored more than 20 points in back-to-back games. In the last two games combined, Copeland is averaging 25 points on 69.2 percent shooting (18-of-26) and is averaging 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
- Tre Holloman added 16 points in the loss to Auburn. He made a season-high four three-pointers against the Tigers and is now shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from three-point range this season. Holloman's three-point percentage is the best in the ACC counting for any players averaging 1.5+ three-pointers made per game.
- Ven-Allen Lubin scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting against Auburn. In three games at Maui, Lubin averaged 16.7 points on 62.5 percent shooting and 10.0 rebounds per game. He led all players in Maui in both offensive rebounds (14) and total rebounds, but had a season-low two rebounds at Auburn as the Pack as a team had a season-low 22 rebounds and had a season-worst -13 rebounding margin.
Saturday Storylines
- NC State is 40th in the first NET rankings of the 2025-26 season which were released on Dec. 1. Through the games of November, NC State has faced the toughest non-conference schedule of any ACC team. Five of the Pack's first eight games this season are currently Q1 or Q2 games. NC State still has five non-conference games remaining and as of the current NET rankings will play one more Q1 game (Dec. 13 vs. Kansas) and one more Q2 game (neutral site game vs. Ole Miss on Dec. 21). While it's currently a Q3 game, the Pack also will face Liberty, the preseason Conference USA favorite, on Dec. 10 in Raleigh.
- NC State head coach Will Wade and UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell were assistant coaches together at VCU for two seasons from 2011-13. VCU went 56-16 in the two seasons the duo coached together and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. Both coaches were also graduate assistants and director of operations at Clemson but at different times. Wade graduated from Clemson in 2005 and was a grad assistant during the 2005-06 season and the director of operations during the 2006-07 season. Morrell was a grad assistant in the 2007-08 season at Clemson and then was the director of operations for two seasons from 2008-10.
- Saturday will mark the 100th game of Ven-Allen Lubin's collegiate career. The Orlando, Fla., native is closing in on being the second current NC State player with 1,000 career points. He enters Saturday with 913 career points (9.2 ppg. average) and is a career 58.9 percent shooter.
- NC State has two of the top field goal percentage players in the ACC, but both players fall just short of making it onto the ACC leaderboard. Ven-Allen Lubin is shooting 64.9 percent (37-of-57) from the field and Quadir Copeland is shooting 62.7 percent (37-of-59) from the field. The players would rank second and third in the ACC in field goal percentage, but both players are averaging 4.6 made field goals per game and you have to average five made field goals per game to qualify for the list.
- Sophomore guard Paul McNeil, Jr., has already passed his scoring marks from last season. As a freshman last season, McNeil., Jr., played in 24 games and scored 101 points (4.2 ppg) and made 16 three-pointers and 19 free throws. Through eight games this season, McNeil, Jr., has scored 107 points (13.4 ppg.) and made 20 three-pointers and is 21-of-24 from the foul line (87.5% - a mark that ranks fifth in the ACC).
- UNC Asheville's leading scorer Justin Wright was high school teammates with former NC State great Terquavion Smith at Farmville Central. The duo helped lead Farmville Central to 42 consecutive wins and a NCHSAA 2A state championship in 2019. Smith played at NC State from 2021-23 and left the Pack to pursue a professional career after two seasons. He scored 1,130 points in an NC State uniform and scored his 1,000th career point in his 58th career game. He was the fastest ACC player to 1,000 career points in 15 seasons.
- Pack's starting unit is giving NC State a lethal offensive punch through the first eight games. NC State's starting lineup (Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin Paul McNeil, Jr., and Darrion Williams) are combining to average 69.7 points per game and shooting an efficient 54.1 percent (186-of-344) from the field, including 47.2 percent (67-of-142) from three-point range. Four of the Pack's starters are shooting 51.9 percent or better from the field.
- On the flip side, the Pack's bench has been struggling the last two games. After averaging 25.8 bench points per game in the first six games of the season, NC State's bench has only scored 16 points total in the last two outings. NC State's bench is shooting a combined 5-of-26 from the field (19.2%), including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range.
- Watch the foul trouble - NC State is last in the ACC and 328th in the NCAA in fouls, averaging to be called for 20.5 fouls per game. In the last four games (Pack is 1-3 in its last four games), NC State has committed 24 more fouls than its opponents. That foul differential has led to 25 more free throw attempts for NC State's opponents in the last four games. In its three losses this season, NC State has been outscored by a total of 26 points. The Pack is -20 to its opponents at the foul line in its three losses.
- After starting the season by outrebounding its first four opponents, NC State has been outrebounded in its last four games.
- NC State scored a season-high 46 paint points last Wednesday against Texas and outscored the Longhorns by 26 points in the paint. For the season, NC State is averaging 34.3 paint points per game and only once this season (vs. Seton Hall) has the Pack been outscored in the paint.
- Get Darrion Williams back on track. Williams averaged 23.3 points per game and shot 61.1 percent from the field, including 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from three-point range in NC State's first four games of the season. In the last four games, Williams is averaging 12.3 points per game and is shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from three-point range.
NC State series with UNC Asheville
- Saturday will be the 20th all-time meeting between NC State and UNC Asheville. NC State has won the previous 19 meetings.
- NC State's all-time leading scorer Rodney Monroe set the program's single-game three-point record in a win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 21, 1989, making nine three-pointers in the Pack's 110-70 win.
- NC State scored 120 points in a win over UNC Asheville on Dec. 20, 1995. It's the most points for the Pack in a single game in the last 35 seasons and counting. The closest NC State has come to that point total since then is 116 points in a win over Jacksonville in December 2017 and this year's season-opener when NC State scored 114 points in the Will Wade era-opener against NC Central.
- Last Meeting (November 13, 2018): NC State defeated UNC Asheville, 100-47, as the Pack held UNC Asheville to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers in victory. Devon Daniels led five NC State players in double figures with 20 po
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