Now might be a good time for North Carolina State to become a bit greedy.
The seventh-ranked Wolfpack snapped out of a funk to capture a victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Wednesday in Charlotte, putting them in a Thursday afternoon quarterfinal against second-seeded and 10th-ranked Virginia.
Virginia beat NC State twice during the regular season, rolling 76-61 in Raleigh, N.C., and 90-61 in Charlottesville, Va. Sam Lewis had a total of 39 points in those two games for the Cavaliers.
“We’ve gotten our doors blown off twice by Virginia,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “We need to try to play better and see if we can make a game of it. … We’ve got to find a way to see if we can just hang in there and see what we can do, but we’ve been outclassed both times.”
Virginia (27-4) has lost only two games since the calendar flipped to 2026, but its two most recent results were narrow home escapes against Wake Forest, 75-70, and Virginia Tech, 76-72, following a lopsided loss at top-ranked Duke.
The Thursday contest will mark the ACC tournament debut as a head coach for Virginia’s Ryan Odom.
NC State’s 98-88 victory against Pitt on the second round on Wednesday gave Wade, who was in his first ACC tournament game as a head coach, his first postseason victory with the Wolfpack (20-12). Six Wolfpack players scored in double figures, led by Quadir Copeland with 24.
“I got teammates that trust me, and we just went with it,” Copeland said. “It allowed me to open up more shots also for my teammates, then we got our threes going.”
The Cavaliers are just 3-15 all-time in ACC tournament meetings with NC State.
Wade said NC State’s offense encountered major issues when facing Virginia earlier this season.
“They’ve blocked a ton of our shots in both games,” he said.
By snapping a four-game losing streak in the Pitt game, NC State’s status for at-large NCAA Tournament consideration should be much sturdier. Knocking off a Top 10 team on a neutral court could do wonders for the Wolfpack.
“We’re not going to take anything for granted,” Wade said. “We’re going to put everything we have into seeing if we can find a way to chip away at Virginia.”
In Odom’s coaching career, he has reached 28 wins in a season only once — in 2024-25 with Virginia Commonwealth.
He has called for a calculated approach in games this season.
“You’re not going to win a game in the first five minutes or the first 10 minutes,” Odom said.
Virginia is led by All-ACC first-team selection Thijs De Ridder, who averages 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3% from the field. Teammate Ugonna Onyenso was named to the All-ACC defensive team.
The Cavaliers might not be totally stocked with superstars, though the team as a whole has found a stride.
“There’s going to be a common theme of sacrifice throughout (a season),” Odom said. “The individuals on this team have done a really good job of sacrificing a bit of themselves for the greater good of the team.”
This will be Virginia’s second game this season at Spectrum Center, where the Cavaliers defeated Dayton in December.
