After losing in overtime at home to Kansas, North Carolina State is aiming to put a tally back in the win column on Wednesday night when it hosts Texas Southern in Raleigh, N.C.
NC State (7-4) had the then-No. 19 Jayhawks on the ropes on Saturday at home, but it couldn’t stop Melvin Council Jr., who exploded for a career-high 36 points on 9-of-15 shooting from 3-point land. It marked a missed opportunity for the Wolfpack, who were eyeing their first signature win under first-year coach Will Wade in front of a sold-out crowd and national TV audience. NC State still has yet to defeat a power-conference opponent this season.
Still, Wade believes his team is improving.
“Look, it’s like I told the guys: the results right now are lagging from our work. The results haven’t shown on the scoreboard yet, but we’re massively better than we were 10 days ago,” Wade said. “The team’s a lot better. Now, you can splinter when you’re taking on water in these losses like this, but I don’t believe this group will. We are getting better defensively. Offensively, we’re playing a little bit better. … We’ve just got to stay together and keep making that progress.”
The usual suspects shined for NC State in its loss to Kansas. Preseason ACC Player of the Year Darrion Williams sent them into overtime with some timely shots on his way to 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ven-Allen Lubin also had a double-double (16 points, 11 boards), and Quadir Copeland netted 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Those three have continued to be the Wolfpack’s leading scorers all season, but Tre Holloman and Paul McNeil Jr. are also scoring in double figures with 11.3 and 10.9 points per game, respectively.
Texas Southern (1-7) has yet to defeat a Division I opponent this season, but has played against some major teams including Gonzaga, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Minnesota. The Golden Gophers handed the Tigers their most recent loss, 89-53, on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Johnny Jones is in his eighth season coaching Texas Southern and has guided the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Wade succeeded him as the head coach at LSU in 2017.
“It’s important for us to compete at a high level,” Jones said recently. “This team is going to be fast — we play quick. We like to push the ball and transition defensively.”
Texas Southern enters this game having allowed the fourth-most field goal attempts nationally, giving up 474 through eight contests.
