Pack Hits Road to Take on 11th-Ranked Virginia

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NC State Game Notes | Virginia Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (19-8, 10-4 ACC) plays its first road game in over two weeks when it plays at 11^th-ranked Virginia (24-3, 12-2 ACC) on Tuesday night.

Tipoff in Charlottesville 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 snapped its two-game skid with an 82-58 win over 16th-ranked North Carolina last Tuesday. NC State's defense held UNC to 31.7 percent shooting and 15.2 percent shooting from three-point range. It was the lowest field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage this season for an NC State opponent. NC State's 24-point margin of victory marked the Pack's largest win over North Carolina since an 85–57 triumph on Feb. 14, 1962.
- Quadir Copeland filled the stat sheet in the Pack's win over the Tar Heels, posting game-highs in points (20), assists (7) and steals (4) while adding six rebounds. He continues to rank among the ACC leaders in assists (second, 6.8 per game) and steals (third, 1.9 per game). In ACC-only games, Copeland leads the league in both categories, averaging 7.8 assists and 2.36 steals through 14 contests. His 109 assists in league play are 22 more than the next closest player. He ranks fifth in the ACC with a 2.67 assist-to-turnover ratio, currently the eighth-best single-season mark in program history.
- Ven-Allen Lubin scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulled down six rebounds in the win over UNC. In the last three games, Lubin is averaging 16.3 points per game and shooting 76 percent (19-of-25) from the field. Lubin has shot over 50 percent in every game except for one this season. The Orlando, Fla., native leads the ACC and ranks second in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 68.9 percent. In his fourth season of college basketball, Lubin is averaging a career-best 13.6 points per game and his rebounding average of 7.0 per game is also the best of his career.
- Matt Able has posted back-to-back season-highs in scoring in the last two games. Against Miami on Feb. 14, Able scored a then season-high with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. In the win over UNC on Feb. 17, Able reset his season-high with 19 points as he made a season-best five three-pointers. In the last five games, Able is averaging 12.4 points per game and shooting 52.2 percent from the field (22-of-42), including 43.8 percent (12-of-23) from three-point range.
- NC State has made double-digit three-pointers in 12 of 27 games this season. The Pack has had two games with 19 made three-pointers, a game with 17 made threes and three games with 16. The 1986-87 season was when the three-point line was introduced to college basketball. From the 1986-87 season through the 2024-25 season, NC State made 16 or more three-pointers in a game six times in 39 seasons. The current NC State team has made 16 or more three-pointers in six of 27 games this season. The Pack currently ranks second in the ACC and 22nd in the NCAA with an average of 10.6 three-pointers made per game. NC State leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the NCAA in three point percentage, making 39.6 percent of its attempts from long range this season.

Tuesday storylines
- Through games of Sunday, Feb. 22, NC State has a 11-7 record against Q1 and Q2 teams in the NET rankings. The only ACC team has that more Q1/Q2 wins than the Pack are Duke (16) and Virginia (12). There are only 14 teams in all of NCAA DI that have more combined Q1 and Q2 wins than the Pack.
- Ven-Allen Lubin's shooting efficiency continues to dominate the conference and is on pace to break the program's single-season field goal percentage record. Lubin is shooting 68.9 percent from the field, which leads the ACC and ranks second nationally. In ACC games alone, he is shooting 68.8 percent — eight percentage points higher than second-place Caleb Wilson of North Carolina (60.6 percent). Lubin's current mark would surpass NC State's single-season record of 64.1 percent, set by Manny Bates during the 2020-21 season. His 68.9 percent clip currently ranks as the second-highest single-season field goal percentage in ACC history, trailing only UNC's Brendan Haywood's 69.7 percent in 1999-2000 and sitting just ahead of Duke's Zion Williamson's 68.0 percent in 2018-19.
- Pick Your Poison: The Pack's scoring balance has been on full display this season, with the team's top four scorers separated by just 15 points through 27 games. Quadir Copeland leads NC State with 378 total points, followed closely by Darrion Williams (369) and Ven-Allen Lubin (368), while Paul McNeil Jr. is fourth on the team in scoring with has 363 points. In ACC play, the Pack's top three scorers are separated by just five points. Lubin leads NC State in scoring in ACC games with 197 total points while Copeland has 195 and Williams has 192.
- Paul McNeil Jr. made two three-pointers in the win over UNC and has now made multiple three-pointers in 20 games this season, including 14 of the last 16 games. McNeil's next three-pointer will be the 100th of his career and his 84th this season which will tie him for 10th on the program's single season chart. McNeil, Jr., has six guaranteed games left in the season (five regular season, at least one in both the ACC Tournament and postseason) and at his current rate of 3.1 three-pointers made per game he'd finish the season with 101 three-pointers which would be four short of the single-season NC State record held by DJ Horne (105 in 40 games) set in the 2023-24 season.
- The Pack's offense has traveled well this season, as NC State has actually shot better away from Raleigh than at home. In 12 road or neutral-site games, the Pack is shooting 47.7 percent, including 42.3percent from three-point range, and averaging 84.7 points per game. NC State averages to make more threes per game away from Raleigh (11 per game in 12 games) than in home games (10.2 per game in 15 games).
- The keys in the Pack's 6-1 ACC road record is three-pointers and turnovers. NC State has made an average of 13.2 three-pointers per game and shooting 48.2 percent from long range in its six ACC road wins, but shot a season-worst 18.2 percent and made a season-low four three-pointers in its lone ACC road loss at Louisville. The Pack has had single digit turnovers in every ACC road win and is averaging just 7.2 turnovers per game in ACC road wins, while it had 10 turnovers in the loss at Louisville. NC State has a 2.35 assist-to-turnover ratio (101-to-43) in ACC road wins and a +32 turnover margin in the six road wins, but had 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio at Louisville and did not win the turnover battle as each team finished with 10.
- NC State had season-lows in points (61), field goals made (18), field goals attempted (50) and field goal percentage (36.0) in the loss earlier this season to UVA. It's the only time this season that NC State has been held under 70 points and one of just three games where the Pack has shot under 40 percent from the field.
- The Pack also had a season-low seven assists in the loss earlier this season to Virginia. Quadir Copeland has had seven or more assists in eight of 14 ACC games this season and has 109 in 14 ACC games (22 more than any other ACC player in conference games), but had just four in the earlier matchup with the Cavaliers.
- NC State has scored 100 or more points in four games this season. It's the most 100 point games in a single season for NC State since the 1995-96 team had four. For the season, NC State averages 84.9 points per game which is third in the ACC and 24th in the NCAA. The Pack is currently on pace to average its most points since Fire & Ice (Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe) led the Pack to an average of 89.3 points per game in the 1990-91 season.
- NC State leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the NCAA in turnover margin at +4.0. The Pack is second in the league and 18th in the NCAA, averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game. NC State's advantage in the turnover battle has led to the Pack having great success in turning its opponents mistakes into points. NC State has outscored its opponent in points off turnovers in 11 of 14 ACC games this season. In 14 ACC games this season, the Pack has outscored its opponents by 111 points in points off turnovers. In 27 games overall this season, NC State has outscored its opponents by 192 points in points off turnovers.
- Win the Boards, win the game? The Pack is 12-0 when it outrebounds its opponent this season, but just 7-8 when it is outrebounded.

NC State series with Virginia
- Tuesday will be the 160th all-time meeting between NC State and Virginia. The Pack leads the all-time series 87-72, but UVA has a 44-25 advantage in games played in Charlottesville, including an 11-2 mark against NC State in games played at John Paul Jones Arena.
- Last Meeting (January 3, 2026): Virginia shot 50 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers on its way to a 76-61 win over NC State inside the Lenovo Center. Virginia went on a 15-2 run midway through the first half to open up a 30-13 advantage and took a 40-20 lead into the halftime break. NC State used an 18-4 run to get within eight, 46-38, with 14:39 to play, but could get no closer. Quadir Copeland led NC State with 15 points while McNeil chipped in 13. Alyn Breed scored a season-high 12 points with all 12 coming in the second half.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Able

Alyn Breed

Quadir Copeland

Ven-Allen Lubin

Darrion Williams

North Carolina State University Athletics