CHARLOTTE — Entering the ACC Tournament, NC State needed a win to solidify its sagging NCAA Tournament resume.
As importantly, the Wolfpack needed something to feel good about after ending the regular season with four consecutive losses and six in their last seven games.
Will Wade and the seventh-seeded Wolfpack got both Wednesday afternoon with a 98-88 victory over No. 15 seed Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament. NC State takes on No. 2 seed Virginia on Thursday at noon.
A loss would have left the Wolfpack sweating out Selection Sunday. With the win, everyone in red can breathe a bit easier about making the NCAA Tournament field.
“There would probably be no next week if we lost today, so this was important or we would have been in real trouble for next week,” said Wade, in his first season with NC State.
Quadir Copeland, a third-team All-ACC selection who followed Wade from McNeese State, scored a team-high 24 points, one of six ‘Pack players in double figures, and added a game-high eight assists in the win. The Wolfpack shot better than 60% from the field and made 13-of-23 3-point attempts.
“This is our last shot,” said Copeland, a senior who played two seasons at Syracuse. “Let’s go make something happen. We ain’t going to get none of those moments back. Looking at this five, six years from now down the line, we don’t want to have no what-ifs or what if we would have did this.”
Copeland is the engine that powers the ‘Pack, which certainly wasn’t the plan entering the season. Forward Darrion Williams (12 points, four assists vs. Pitt) was the league’s preseason player of the year, but instead it’s been Copeland, known for his erratic play earlier in his career, that is leading the team with his play, enthusiasm and the confidence he instills in his teammates.
“I just trusted the work, trusted the people around me that really supported me and had my back,” Copeland said of his college basketball journey.
Wade said Copeland’s growth as a player is attributable to his maturity off the court.
“How you do anything is how you do everything,” Wade said. “He’s tightened his life up off the court, which has allowed him to tighten his game up on the court.
“Everything was loose. That’s why he left Syracuse. You say I chose him at McNeese. There weren’t a lot of options for him. It was like Last Chance U down there, so we took him, and he’s matured. You’ve got to give him a ton of credit. You’ve got to give him all the credit. He’s wanted to change his ways. Is he perfect? No, but he’s a lot better than he was, and I’m very proud. I don’t know if we’ve had a player in our program over all my years, maybe one or two others that I can think of, that have shown the growth that he’s shown on and off the court.”
NC State (20-12) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but went on a 13-0 run late in the half to take the lead, one it wouldn’t relinquish. The Wolfpack opened the second half on a 10-1 run to take control of the game, though Pitt hung around in what might be the final game for coach Jeff Capel.
Pitt (13-20) had won four of its last six games entering the tournament. Cameron Corhen led Pitt with 27 points and seven rebounds. The Panthers made eight of their first 12 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 12 on 27 attempts.
“They hadn’t seen our defense until today,” Wade quipped about Pitt’s season-high in made 3s.
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The Wolfpack will have to be better Thursday against a big Virginia team that beat NC State twice in the regular season or, as Wade put it, “we’ve gotten our doors blown off twice by Virginia.” The Cavaliers earned a 15-point win in Raleigh and a 29-point win in Charlottesville.
Even without an upset over the Cavs, NC State feels good about making the NCAA field. The Wolfpack are 5-7 in Quad 1 games and 6-4 in Quad 2 games, aided by solid non-conference wins against VCU and Boise State. A home loss to Georgia Tech sticks out, but NC State has avoided any other big missteps. NC State is No. 35 overall in the NET, a key indicator for the selection committee.
“I know teams with our profile make it about 90 percent of the time, so I would feel pretty good,” Wade said. “I would not have wanted to risk it by losing today.”
The ‘Pack didn’t, which means a far less sleepless nights until Sunday.
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2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Spectrum Center • Charlotte, N.C.
Tuesday, March 10 (First Round)
No. 15 seed Pitt 64, No. 10 seed Stanford 63
No. 11 seed SMU 86, No. 14 seed Syracuse 69
No. 13 seed Wake Forest 95, No. 12 seed Virginia Tech 89 (OT)
Wednesday, March 11 (Second Round)
No. 7 seed NC State 98, No. 15 seed Pitt 88
Note: NC State has won six straight ACC Tournament games. The Wolfpack won five in a row in 2024, earning their first conference title since 1987, and didn’t qualify for the 15-team event last season.
No. 11 seed SMU vs. No. 6 seed Louisville | ESPN | 2:30 p.m.
No. 9 seed California vs No. 8 seed Florida State | ESPNU | 7 p.m.
No. 13 seed Wake Forest vs. No. 5 seed Clemson | ESPNU | 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 12 (Quarterfinals)
No. 7 seed NC State vs. No. 2 seed Virginia | ESPN2 | Noon
SMU-Louisville winner vs No. 3 seed Miami | ESPN2 | 2:30 p.m.
California-Florida State winner vs No. 1 seed Duke | ESPN | 7 p.m.
Wake Forest-Clemson winner vs. No. 4 seed North Carolina | ESPN | 9:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13 (Semifinals)
Thursday Afternoon Winners | ESPN/2 | 7/9:30 p.m.
Thursday Evening Winners | ESPN/2 | 7/9:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 (Championship)
Championship Game | ESPN | 8:30 p.m.
