NC State basketball wins sixth in a row. Observations from win vs. Virginia Tech

U.S. sports books, KenPom and ESPN all listed N.C. State as a heavy favorite over Virginia Tech, expecting the Wolfpack to win by 10 points.

N.C. State head coach Will Wade said earlier this week his team is on a much better trajectory and playing better than it was earlier in the ACC schedule. Wade also said the Hokies are a better team than their record indicates, pointing to its buzzer beater losses at Wake Forest and SMU, and its triple-overtime win at Virginia.

As expected, the Wolfpack was the better team on Saturday, finally pulling away to beat Virginia Tech, 83-72, at Lenovo Center. N.C. State has won six straight games. That is the longest win streak by N.C. State since the 1973-74 season.

The Wolfpack (18-6, 9-2 ACC) put together several stretches of great play, and though N.C. State struggled with defensive containment in the second half, it answered every Hokies surge.

“They played with desperation. They played how you would want to play in the situation that they’re in,” Wade said on Saturday. Our guys answered those runs and answered those changes in momentum very well. I thought we did a good job staying connected, staying together.”

With 12 minutes remaining, N.C. State gave up consecutive open 3-pointers to Jaden Schutt, the Hokies’ most efficient 3-point shooter (41%). That cut the Wolfpack lead to three points after it had climbed back to a 13-point advantage three minutes earlier.

Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said, emphasizing he wasn’t criticizing Wade’s team, that the Wolfpack “is going to play the way they play.”

“They will give you the opportunity to get back,” Young said. “They’ll also punch you again if you don’t take advantage of those opportunities.”

Tre Holloman, Quadir Copeland and Paul McNeil provided the majority of scoring down the stretch to push their squad past the visitors, scoring 20 of the Wolfpack’s 22 points in the final 10 minutes.

McNeil and Copeland finished with 21 points each. Copeland, who surpassed 1,000 career points, also added 10 assists and five steals. The senior has recorded at least nine assists in five straight games. Holloman scored 16 points with three 3s

Darrion Williams was held to four points on 1-of-9 shooting, while adding five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.

Though the Wolfpack led by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Hokies continued to respond the entire game. Wade, on his radio show Thursday, said his team would need persistence.

“This is an important game. They’re very well coached,” Wade said of Virginia Tech. “There’s not many coaches in the country I respect more than Mike Young. He was at Wofford when I was at Chattanooga. … “They’re on the bubble, so we’re gonna get their absolute best shot. And it’s on us to make sure that we’re, you know, we’re playing well and doing what we need to do to play our best.”

The Wolfpack and Hokies (16-8, 5-6) were tied at 6-6 four minutes into the game before N.C. State went on a 14-1 run over the course of 3 1/2 minutes. The run gave the Wolfpack at 13-point lead, capped off by Holloman’s 3 on the wing.

The Wolfpack, however, got seemingly too comfortable with its advantage. N.C. State’s offense went 2 of 9 in the following 7 1/2 minutes of the first half, often shooting quick 3s with limited passing or drives inside. Thankfully for the Wolfpack’s winning streak, it took an 11-0 run to regain a double-digit lead. N.C. State went to the locker room with a 36-24 advantage, shooting just over 48% from the field.

Virginia Tech’s 24 first-half points were the second-fewest allowed by the Wolfpack this season — second only to the 19 points given up to Liberty in December — and fewest against a Power Four opponent this year.

Amani Hansberry led the Hokies with 19 points, scoring 16 in the second half. He has surpassed the 10-point mark five times in the last six games.

Tobi Lawal added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Hokies.

Neoklis Avdalas added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, reaching double figures for the first time in three games. He averaged 5.3 points across the previous three outings, including two 1-of-8 performances against Louisville and Duke.

Early interior defense gives Pack lead

N.C. State’s early defense locked down the paint early, limiting Virginia Tech’s ability to take short-range shots.

The Wolfpack held the Hokies scoreless from the lane in the first nine minutes of play, while the offense had success driving inside and took a 14-0 lead in the paint. Virginia Tech did not make its first layup until 11 minutes had elapsed.

N.C. State went to the locker room with a 20-8 scoring advantage in the lane.

N.C. State was far less successful in the second half and ended the game with a 38-36 scoring advantage in the lane. This remains an issue for the team, which is inconsistent with its interior defense.

The Wolfpack’s first-half strength, however, allowed N.C. State to take a lead and play from ahead for more than 37 minutes.

N.C. State averages 33 points in the paint per game on the season and 30.3 in ACC play.

Defense contains Hokies’ leaders in first half

Hansberry and Ben Hammond entered the game as two of the Hokies’ leading scorers. Hammond averaged 12.8 points per game, and Hansberry contributed 15 points per game this season.

On Saturday, the duo combined for three first-half points on 1-of-16 (6.3%) shooting from the field. They were 0 for 7 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

“Shout out Jig,” Copeland said, referring to Holloman by his nickname. “He set the tone on why their guards were what they were in the first half. He set the tone, switching on and off, switching from a 6-9 guard to a 5-9, 5-11 guard. He’s gonna be humble with his answer, but I’m gonna let y’all guys know.”

Holloman said he takes pride in defense but felt like he’s been slacking.

“I want to set that spark for our team, and it worked,” Holloman said.

Hansberry didn’t go down quietly, despite his slow start. He finished with 19 points, but went 0 for 5 on 3-pointers.

Hansberry was coming off a 20-point performance in the Hokies’ loss to Duke. Hammond, meanwhile, had scored double figures in the previous six games and averaged 16.6 points per game during that stretch.

Hammond went 0 for 9 from the field and played 14 minutes in the second half on Saturday.

“We were face guarding him in the full court, trying to make it difficult for him to get the ball,” Wade said. “Tre did that. Tre played great. Played 36, 37 minutes, and hounded Hammond up and down the court.

“I think by the time he got the ball, he was a little bit tired, a little bit fatigued. He took some tough mid-range shots, fadeaway shots, settled for some 3s.”

Uncharacteristic turnovers

Paul McNeil led all players in scoring, but he struggled at times with his ball handling. The sophomore committed three turnovers, half of what he’d committed the entire season.

McNeil entered the game with six turnovers on the season, ranking No. 2 in the nation with a 2.9% turnover rate. Part of that was his lack of dribbling, primarily being a catch-and-shoot player.

“I always tell him, ‘Shoot it before you turn it over, fire that thing up at the basket,’” Wade said this week. “If you shoot it, we’ve got a chance for it to go in. We’ve got a chance to get fouled, and we’ve got a chance to get an offensive rebound. If you turn it over, we’ve got none of those chances.”

Wade was proven correct on a handful of possessions when McNeil made the basket and got fouled on a 3-point attempt. McNeil made up for the miscues, but he won’t want a repeat of those turnovers.

As a team, the Wolfpack finished with 11 turnovers, slightly over its average of 8.8 turnovers in ACC play.

This story was originally published February 7, 2026 at 2:31 PM.