Pack Hosts Virginia Tech Saturday at Noon in Sold Out Lenovo Center

Saturday, February 7

Raleigh, NC

12 PM

NC State

Virginia Tech

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Pack Hosts Virginia Tech Saturday at Noon in Sold Out Lenovo Center

2/6/2026 11:21:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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NC State Game Notes | Virginia Tech Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (17-6, 8-2 ACC) hosts Virginia Tech (16-7, 5-5 ACC) Saturday at noon inside a sold out Lenovo Center.

The game against the Hokies 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
- NC State battled back from a 13-point first half deficit to beat SMU, 84-83, on Tuesday night. The Pack went on a 26-6 run in the second half to turn a 58-50 deficit into a 76-64 lead with 6:50 to play. The Mustangs responded with a 9-0 to get back within 76-73 with 4:08 remaining and had a chance to win the game, taking possession with 14 seconds left, but Tre Holloman blocked SMU's game-winning field goal attempt to secure the win.
- NC State made 16 three-pointers (for the second consecutive game) in the win over SMU. NC State has had double-digit three-pointers in 12 of 23 games this season. The Pack has had two games with 19 made three-pointers, a game with 17 made threes and now three games with 16. The 1986-87 season was when the three-point line was introduced to college basketball. From the 1986-87 season through the 2024-25 season, NC State made 16 or more three-pointers in a game six times in 39 seasons. The current NC State team has now made 16 or more three-pointers in six of 23 games this season. The Pack currently ranks second in the ACC and 12th in the NCAA with an average of 11.0 three-pointers made per game. NC State leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the NCAA in three point percentage, making 40.1 percent of its attempts from long range this season.
- The win over SMU pushed the Pack's ACC record to 8-2 on the season. It's the best ACC record for NC State through 10 games since the 2005-06 season. NC State has won its first six ACC road games this season. It's the first time the Pack started its ACC schedule by winning its first six ACC road games since the 1973–74 season, when NC State went 12–0 in conference play and went on to capture the National Championship with a 30–1 overall record.
- Quadir Copeland was three points short of a triple double on Tuesday as he finished with a career-best 16 assists (zero turnovers) and a season-high 10 rebounds. Copeland's 16 assists tie for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. They are most by an NC State player since Dennis Smith, Jr., had 16 in a win over Rider on Dec. 28, 2016. Copeland is the first Division I player to log 16 assists and zero turnovers since Belmont's Grayson Murphy in 2019 and the first ACC player to have 16 assists and zero turnovers since 1997. Copeland set the program record for most assists without a turnover (previous record was 15 assists/0 turnovers by Ishua Benjamin on 12/18/97).

Saturday Storylines
- NC State is currently on a five-game win streak in ACC play. It's the program's first five game win streak in ACC regular season games since the 2020-21 team won its final five regular season games of the 2020-21 season. A win on Saturday would give the Pack its first six-game ACC regular season win streak since NC State went 12-0 in the 1973-74 season. The Pack had a seven-game ACC regular season win streak in the 80s but the streak was at the end of one season and the beginning of another. The 1987-88 NC State team won its final four ACC regular season games and then the 1988-89 team opened ACC play with a 3-0 record. The 1973-74 undefeated ACC team was part of a 27 game ACC win streak for the Pack. NC State won its final two ACC regular season games in the 1971-72 season, went undefeated in the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons and then won its first ACC regular season game in the 1974-75 season before falling at fifth-ranked Maryland on Jan. 16, 1975. It was the Pack's first ACC regular season loss since a one point loss at Duke on Feb. 23, 1972.
- Darrion Williams had his third consecutive 20+-point scoring performance on Tuesday against SMU as he finished with a game-high 25 points against the Mustangs. Williams tied his career-high with six made three-pointers at SMU and has now made five or more three-pointers in the last three games. In the last three games, Williams is averaging 22.7 points per game and has made 16 three-pointers, shooting 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from long range. The Sacramento, Calif, native has made 54 three-pointers this season which is the most in a single season in his collegiate career (previous most was 48 in 34 games last season at Texas Tech).
- An aggressive Williams is what the Pack wants to see, NC State is 10-1 this season when he takes 12 or more shots in a game and 11-3 when he makes multiple three pointers in a game.
- Quadir Copeland has had at least nine assists in four consecutive games and overall has 44 assists (11 per game) and a 5.5 assist-to-turnover ratio in his last four outings. Copeland has passed out 159 assists this season, the most ever in a single season in his collegiate career and already is the most assists by an NC State player in the last five seasons. In addition to facilitating for his teammates, Copeland is averaging a career-best 13.7 points per game this season and enters Saturday's game against Virginia Tech needing just 14 points for 1,000 in his career.
- Paul McNeil, Jr., made three three-pointers in the win at SMU and has now made multiple three-pointers in 11 of the last 12 games. McNeil, Jr., has made 49 three-pointers in his last 12 games (4.1 per game) and is shooting 47.1% from long range in those contests. For the season, McNeil is averaging 3.2 three-pointers per game to rank second in the ACC and 26th in the NCAA while his three-point percentage of 42.9 percent leads the ACC and ranks 20th in the NCAA.
- Ven-Allen Lubin had his typical consistent performance in the win at SMU, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds. Lubin has now shot over 50 percent in every game except for one this season. The Orlando, Fla., native leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 67.8 percent. In his fourth season of college basketball, Lubin is averaging a career-best 13.4 points per game and his rebounding average of 7.0 per game is also the best of his career. Over the last seven games, Lubin is averaging 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 70 percent (42-of-60) from the field.
- NC State had single digit turnovers in seven of the last eight games. NC State ranks second in the ACC in turnovers (and ranks 21st in the NCAA), averaging just 9.6 per game. NC State only has 63 turnovers (7.8 per game) in the Pack's last eight outings.
- The Pack outscored SMU 10-7 in points off turnovers in Tuesday's win. In ACC play, the Pack has scored more points than its opponent in points off turnovers in nine of 10 games. In 10 ACC games this season, the Pack has outscored its opponents by 99 points in points off turnovers. NC State has now had more points off turnovers than its opponents in 14 of the last 16 games. In 23 games overall this season, NC State has outscored its opponents by 180 points in points off turnovers.
- In its last eight games, NC State passed out 140 assists and had just 63 turnovers (2.22 assist-to-turnover ratio). NC State is second in the ACC and ranks 13th in the NCAA with a 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. The 1.77 assist-to-turnover ratio would be a program record. The previous single-season best in program history is currently 1.61 by the 1987-88 team.
- The Pack has a +43 turnover margin in its 10 ACC games this season and leads the ACC and ranks 13th in the NCAA with a +4.2 turnover margin. The only two power conference teams in the NCAA to have a better turnover margin than the Pack are Houston (+6.8) and Iowa State (+5.2). NC State has had the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent in 21 of 23 games this season. VCU and Ole Miss are the only two opponents to have fewer turnovers than the Pack when they played.
- Win the Boards, win the game? The Pack is 12-0 when it outrebounds its opponent this season, but just 5-6 when it is outrebounded.
- The win at Florida State marked the fourth time this season NC State has gone over the century mark. It's the most 100 point games in a single season for NC State since the 1995-96 team had four. For the season, NC State averages 85.8 points per game which is second in the ACC and 26th in the NCAA. The Pack is currently on pace to average its most points since Fire & Ice (Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe) led the Pack to an average of 89.3 points per game in the 1990-91 season.
- Ven-Allen Lubin has been unstoppable in the 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. In 23 games this season, Lubin is shooting 79.2 percent (76-of-96) from the field in the second half. As a team this season, NC State is shooting over 50 percent from the field in the second half. Through 23 games, the Pack is shooting 51.2 percent in the second half, including 43.2 percent from three-point range. NC State has also been excellent at the foul line in the final 20 minutes of games as the Pack is making 76.9 percent of its free throw attempts.

NC State series with Virginia Tech
- Saturday will be the 65th all-time meeting between NC State and Virginia Tech.
- NC State leads the all-time series, 43-21, and has a 23-8 record against the Hokies in Raleigh, but Virginia Tech has beat the Pack the last three times the programs have played in the Lenovo Center.
- Last Meeting (January 15, 2025): Virginia Tech ended the game on a 19-4 run, including scoring the final nine points of the game, to beat NC State, 79-76, in Blacksburg last season. NC State led by as many as 15 points in the second half and still had a 12 point lead, 72-60, with 6:38 to play, before the Hokies went on their run. Jaden Schutt made two free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining to give the Hokies a 77-76 lead, their first lead since it was 29-28 with 6:30 left in the first half. Jayden Taylor led NC State with 17 points.