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N.C. State basketball coach Will Wade during a press conference on Nov. 20, 2025 inside the Dail Basketball Center. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\nA pair of high-profile, first-year coaches will lead programs that participated in the last two Final Fours when North Carolina State visits No. 20 Auburn on Wednesday night in the ACC\/SEC Challenge.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Wolfpack lost in the Final Four two seasons ago, and Auburn fell in the event last season. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n This season, the Wolfpack (5-2) will look to rebound from a 1-2 showing at last week’s Maui Invitational. The losses, to Seton Hall and Texas, were their first under coach Will Wade, a familiar face for Auburn teams. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n Wade headed up the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference counterpart LSU from 2017 through 2022, then led McNeese to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2024 and 2025. The Cowboys advanced to the second round in last year’s tournament with a roster that included current North Carolina State guard Quadir Copeland, who is coming off a 28-point game in a 102-97 loss to Texas on Wednesday. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n Copeland (13.6) is among five Wolfpack scorers averaging in double figures. He joins Darrion Williams (18.7), Paul McNeil Jr. (14.3), Ven-Allen Lubin (12.1) and Tre Holloman (11.1).<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The five have combined to power one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the nation at an average of 93.6 points per game. The Wolfpack have knocked down 11.3 3-pointers per game at a 42.2% clip.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n North Carolina State struggled defensively vs. the Longhorns in its finale at the Maui Invitational, surrendering 29-of-52 shooting from the floor — including 16 of 32 from 3-point distance. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n The Wolfpack also sent Texas to the free-throw line for 33 attempts, 28 of which the Longhorns made. North Carolina State has been among the most foul-plagued teams in college basketball this season, giving up an average of 19.1 points per game at the free-throw line. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “We’ve got to do better defensively, whether that’s communicating, flying around, being more aggressive, putting pressure on the ball or giving a team (only) one shot at the rim,” Lubin said. “We can learn from this when we head back and continue to develop.” <\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Wolfpack now draw an opponent in Auburn that has been tested with an early-season gauntlet — including last week’s three-game set in Las Vegas at the Players Era men’s tournament. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Tigers (6-2) bookended a lopsided loss to tournament champion Michigan on Nov. 25 with wins over Oregon and then-No. 14-ranked St. John’s. Tahaad Pettiford scored a career-high 27 points to lead Auburn in its 85-74 defeat of the Red Storm on Wednesday, improving his season average to 15.1 points per game. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n “Just having teammates and coaches that have my back, even if I’m not hitting shots, they just tell me to keep going,” Pettiford said in an interview with TNT Sports. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n The coaching staff to which Pettiford referred is led by Steven Pearl, who replaced his father, Bruce, in September. Bruce Pearl announced his retirement after a tenure that included two Final Four trips with Auburn, in 2019 and 2025. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Tigers faced noteworthy roster turnover in the offseason, not the least of which was the coaching change, losing double-double-averaging big man Johni Broome and wing Chad Baker-Mazara.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n However, UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall has emerged as a leading playmaker. His 20.9 points per game lead the Tigers scoring to an 88.5-point-per-game pace through the first eight games. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n