NC State Basketball Stuns Rival in Overtime Thriller—How the Wolfpack Just Changed the ACC Race

RALEIGH, N.C.—NC State basketball hits a pivotal checkpoint in its first season under head coach Will Wade when the Wolfpack travel to No. 20 Auburn on Wednesday night for the ACC/SEC Challenge. After slipping out of the AP Top 25 with a 1-2 showing at the Maui Invitational, the Pack (5-2) can reset its NCAA Tournament résumé by grabbing a Quad 1 road win inside the raucous Neville Arena. Why the Auburn game matters • Strength-of-schedule surge: NC State already owns the ACC’s toughest non-league slate and sits No. 40 in the first NET rankings; Auburn and a December 13 date with Kansas headline six remaining non-conference tilts. • Road demons: The Wolfpack have not won a true road game since February 2024. Wade’s group can erase that narrative in its first hostile environment of 2025-26. Offensive fireworks vs. defensive fixes NC State ranks 13th nationally in scoring (93.6 ppg) and seventh in three-point percentage (42.2 %). Starters Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin, Paul McNeil Jr. and preseason ACC Player of the Year Darrion Williams combine for nearly 70 points a night while shooting 48.7 % from deep. The flip side: foul trouble (20.7 whistles per game, worst in the ACC) and perimeter lapses haunted the Pack in Maui, where Texas drilled 16 threes during a 102-97 win. Wade labeled it an “all-systems breakdown” and spent the past week shoring up ball-screen rotations and transition matchups. Matchups to watch 1. Darrion Williams vs. Johni Broome: Williams averaged 23.3 points before Hawaii but fouled out twice on the island; he’ll need to stay on the floor against Auburn’s All-SEC big man. 2. Pace war: NC State pushes for 17.1 fast-break points per game, but Auburn’s guards turn teams over on 22 % of possessions. Copeland (1.88 assist/TO ratio in Maui) must value the ball. 3. Lubin on the glass: The 6-foot-8 transfer led the Maui field with 14 offensive rebounds; second-chance looks could neutralize Auburn’s home-court surge. What’s next After Auburn, the Wolfpack host UNC-Asheville (Dec. 6) before the marquee Lenovo Center showdown with No. 3 Kansas. A 2-1 start to December would catapult NC State back into the polls and, more importantly, cement Wade’s squad as an early at-large lock. Bottom line NC State basketball’s high-powered offense meets its biggest defensive test to date on the Plains. Survive the “Jungle,” and the Wolfpack’s path back to national relevance—and March security—brightens considerably.