North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Closes Opening Home Stand by Hosting VCU on Monday Night
11/16/2025 1:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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NC State Game Notes | VCU Game Notes
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team hosts VCU Monday night to complete its season-opening home stand.
Tipoff inside the Lenovo Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
- NC State outscored UNCG, 63-27, in the second half to beat the Spartans, 110-64, on Friday night.
Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil, Jr., each established career-highs in points in the win over UNCG. Williams, Jr., finished with 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. McNeil, Jr., also drained six three-pointers on his way to 27 points.
- McNeil, Jr., and Williams are the first set of NC State teammates to score 25 or more points in the same game since Dec. 6, 2022 when Terquavion Smith had 33 points and Jarkel Joiner had 29 in a win over Coppin State.
- The Pack owned the paint in the win over the Spartans, outscoring UNCG, 42-8, in points in the paint.
Offense humming through three games: NC State is averaging 106 points per game and shooting 56 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from three-point range in its three games this season. It leads the ACC in scoring, three-pointers per game (15.0) and three-point field goal percentage. Its second in the ACC in field goal percentage. The Pack's effective field goal percentage leads the ACC and is fourth in the NCAA. An effective field goal percentage between 50-54% is considered very good and anything over 55% is considered elite. Through three games, the Pack's effective FG percent is 67.6%.
- Making the easy ones - The Pack's three-point prowess has been well chronicled, second in the NCAA with an average of 15 threes per game and 18th in NCAA with a three-point shooting percentage of 44.1%, but NC State's effectiveness on the "easy ones" is what helps the offense hum. Through three games, the Pack is shooting 69.2 percent (63-of-91) on two-point field goals.
- Pack's starting unit is giving NC State a lethal offensive punch through the first three games. NC State's starting lineup (Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin Paul McNeil., Jr., and Darrion Williams) are combining to average 75 points per game and shooting a ridiculously efficient 62 percent (75-of121) from the field, including 55 percent (33-of-60) from three-point range.. All five starters are shooting over 50 percent from the field.
Monday Storylines
- NC State head coach Will Wade was previously the head coach at VCU for two seasons from 2015-17. In his two years with the Rams, he guided the program to an overall record of 51-20 and VCU advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. He also was an assistant coach at VCU for four seasons from 2009-13, including the 2010-11 season when VCU advanced to the Final Four.
- Two members of Wade's staff have degrees from VCU and worked with the men's basketball program. Assistant Coach Brandon Chambers graduated from VCU in 2011 and was a student manager and student assistant coach with the men's basketball program while a student. Director of Pack Performance Greg Goldin was a 2012-13 Strength & Conditioning GA at VCU and earned his master's degree from VCU in 2013. He came back to VCU in 2015 when Wade was hired as head coach and was the Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance from 2015-17.
- VCU assistant coach Brett Nelson was an assistant coach at NC State last season. One of the players he worked closely with was Paul McNeil, Jr., and McNeil has credited Nelson as being someone who really helped him close last season strong and help set him up for his breakout sophomore campaign.
- Dating back to the 2016-17 season, NC State has a 69-3 (.958) record against non-conference opponents in regular season home games.
- A win on Monday night would give the Pack a 4-0 start for the fourth consecutive season.
- NC State's offensive output through three games (318 points) is the most for the program since the 1990-91 season when the Pack scored 378 points. It's the most by any ACC team through its first three games since North Carolina had 331 points in the 1992-93 season.
- Second Half Pack. NC State's offense hasn't exactly been bad in the first half this season - The Pack has scored 142 points in the first half of the first three games this season (average of 47.3 points in first half) - but NC State has gone to another level in the final 20 minutes. So far in the second half this season, NC State has scored 176 points (58.7 second half points average) and is shooting 64.1 percent, including 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from three-point range. NC State is shooting 80.6 percent (29-of-36) on two-point field goals in the second half this season.
- Darrion Williams, the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year, has stuffed the stat sheet to start the season. Williams is averaging 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He's shooting 61.5 percent from the field, 64.7 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the foul line. He posted a double-double in the win over UNCG on Wednesday with a career-high 32 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. He ranks in the top-10 in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (3rd), points (4th), assist-turnover ratio (4th; 7.0) and field goal percentage (8th).
- Freshman Musa Sagnia getting comfortable with the college game. The Gambia native has played in Spain's professional system since he was 14, but the learning curve for the college game was still expected to be steep for him. Through three games though, Sagnia has made an impact for the Pack. He had four steals in NC State's season-opening win over NC Central and had a team-high 10 rebounds in the win Friday over UAB. Sagnia is currently averaging team-bests in rebounds (7.0) and steals (2.0) and is shooting 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the field.
NC State series with VCU
- Monday marks the first ever game between the two programs.
- NC State has an all-time record of 120-30 against teams currently in the Atlantic 10. VCU is the only Atlantic 10 team that the Pack has never played.
NC State Game Notes | VCU Game Notes
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team hosts VCU Monday night to complete its season-opening home stand.
Tipoff inside the Lenovo Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
- NC State outscored UNCG, 63-27, in the second half to beat the Spartans, 110-64, on Friday night.
Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil, Jr., each established career-highs in points in the win over UNCG. Williams, Jr., finished with 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. McNeil, Jr., also drained six three-pointers on his way to 27 points.
- McNeil, Jr., and Williams are the first set of NC State teammates to score 25 or more points in the same game since Dec. 6, 2022 when Terquavion Smith had 33 points and Jarkel Joiner had 29 in a win over Coppin State.
- The Pack owned the paint in the win over the Spartans, outscoring UNCG, 42-8, in points in the paint.
Offense humming through three games: NC State is averaging 106 points per game and shooting 56 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from three-point range in its three games this season. It leads the ACC in scoring, three-pointers per game (15.0) and three-point field goal percentage. Its second in the ACC in field goal percentage. The Pack's effective field goal percentage leads the ACC and is fourth in the NCAA. An effective field goal percentage between 50-54% is considered very good and anything over 55% is considered elite. Through three games, the Pack's effective FG percent is 67.6%.
- Making the easy ones - The Pack's three-point prowess has been well chronicled, second in the NCAA with an average of 15 threes per game and 18th in NCAA with a three-point shooting percentage of 44.1%, but NC State's effectiveness on the "easy ones" is what helps the offense hum. Through three games, the Pack is shooting 69.2 percent (63-of-91) on two-point field goals.
- Pack's starting unit is giving NC State a lethal offensive punch through the first three games. NC State's starting lineup (Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, Ven-Allen Lubin Paul McNeil., Jr., and Darrion Williams) are combining to average 75 points per game and shooting a ridiculously efficient 62 percent (75-of121) from the field, including 55 percent (33-of-60) from three-point range.. All five starters are shooting over 50 percent from the field.
Monday Storylines
- NC State head coach Will Wade was previously the head coach at VCU for two seasons from 2015-17. In his two years with the Rams, he guided the program to an overall record of 51-20 and VCU advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. He also was an assistant coach at VCU for four seasons from 2009-13, including the 2010-11 season when VCU advanced to the Final Four.
- Two members of Wade's staff have degrees from VCU and worked with the men's basketball program. Assistant Coach Brandon Chambers graduated from VCU in 2011 and was a student manager and student assistant coach with the men's basketball program while a student. Director of Pack Performance Greg Goldin was a 2012-13 Strength & Conditioning GA at VCU and earned his master's degree from VCU in 2013. He came back to VCU in 2015 when Wade was hired as head coach and was the Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance from 2015-17.
- VCU assistant coach Brett Nelson was an assistant coach at NC State last season. One of the players he worked closely with was Paul McNeil, Jr., and McNeil has credited Nelson as being someone who really helped him close last season strong and help set him up for his breakout sophomore campaign.
- Dating back to the 2016-17 season, NC State has a 69-3 (.958) record against non-conference opponents in regular season home games.
- A win on Monday night would give the Pack a 4-0 start for the fourth consecutive season.
- NC State's offensive output through three games (318 points) is the most for the program since the 1990-91 season when the Pack scored 378 points. It's the most by any ACC team through its first three games since North Carolina had 331 points in the 1992-93 season.
- Second Half Pack. NC State's offense hasn't exactly been bad in the first half this season - The Pack has scored 142 points in the first half of the first three games this season (average of 47.3 points in first half) - but NC State has gone to another level in the final 20 minutes. So far in the second half this season, NC State has scored 176 points (58.7 second half points average) and is shooting 64.1 percent, including 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from three-point range. NC State is shooting 80.6 percent (29-of-36) on two-point field goals in the second half this season.
- Darrion Williams, the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year, has stuffed the stat sheet to start the season. Williams is averaging 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He's shooting 61.5 percent from the field, 64.7 percent from three-point range and 85.7 percent from the foul line. He posted a double-double in the win over UNCG on Wednesday with a career-high 32 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. He ranks in the top-10 in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (3rd), points (4th), assist-turnover ratio (4th; 7.0) and field goal percentage (8th).
- Freshman Musa Sagnia getting comfortable with the college game. The Gambia native has played in Spain's professional system since he was 14, but the learning curve for the college game was still expected to be steep for him. Through three games though, Sagnia has made an impact for the Pack. He had four steals in NC State's season-opening win over NC Central and had a team-high 10 rebounds in the win Friday over UAB. Sagnia is currently averaging team-bests in rebounds (7.0) and steals (2.0) and is shooting 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the field.
NC State series with VCU
- Monday marks the first ever game between the two programs.
- NC State has an all-time record of 120-30 against teams currently in the Atlantic 10. VCU is the only Atlantic 10 team that the Pack has never played.
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