N.C. State basketball snapped a nearly 1,800-day drought with an 80-76 overtime win at No. 18 Clemson on Jan. 20, picking up its first road victory against a ranked opponent since 2021.
The Wolfpack (13-6, 4-2 ACC) also picked up its first signature win under first-year coach Will Wade, using a big performance from Ven-Allen Lubin and free throws in the final stretch at Littlejohn Coliseum to hand the Tigers (16-4, 6-1) their first ACC loss of the season.
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Wade, a Clemson alum, started his coaching career as a student assistant with the Tigers from 2005-07. His McNeese State squad upset Clemson in the 2025 NCAA Tournament before he took the job in Raleigh.
“Just happy for NC State, man. This is a big win for us. We needed this. Quad 1 win, road win. We needed this bad, and our guys responded,” Wade said during a postgame interview on the Wolfpack Sports Network. “But the lesson from this is we can’t keep putting ourselves in situations where we need to respond. Let’s use this to … be ready to roll.”
Following a disappointing home loss to Georgia Tech (11-8, 2-4), N.C. State snagged a Quadrant 1 win after losing its first five Q1 games this season. It’s a résumé-boosting victory that should look good for the Pack on Selection Sunday ahead of March Madness.
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According to BracketMatrix, N.C. State entered the Clemson game included on 61 of 81 bracket projections, listed as a likely 10 seed by most bracketologists. It’s No. 34 in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, as of Jan. 20.
Wade, a Clemson alum who started his career as a student assistant for the Tigers,
The last time N.C. State won at Clemson (2024), the Wolfpack ended the season at the Final Four. With its latest road win against the Tigers, the Pack picked up its first top-25 victory on the road since taking down No. 15 Virginia in a 68-61 win on Feb. 24, 2021, snapping a six-game losing streak in those situations.
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Lubin had a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and Darrion Williams finished with 17 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:40 left in overtime. Quadir Copeland added 16 points and six assists, with Paul McNeil tallying 10 points.
N.C. State didn’t make a shot in the final 8-plus minutes of regulation, but the Wolfpack made 22 of 25 free throws, including nine during that drought to force overtime.
The Pack made four free throws in the final 18 seconds of the extra period to seal the program’s third road win in league play. The program didn’t win an ACC road game last season, finishing 0-10 away from Lenovo Center against league opponents.
N.C. State is back in action at Pittsburgh (8-10, 1-4) on Saturday, Jan. 24 (Noon, ESPN2).
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“Just very proud of our guys. We’ve responded the right way, but we shouldn’t be in these situations, we gotta be more consistent, we gotta get some consistency to us,” Wade said. “And that starts with preparing and playing well Saturday at Pittsburgh. So we’ve just been so up and down and it’s been very, very frustrating. So hopefully this will be something that the springboard is forward.”
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: N.C. State basketball ends notable drought with notable win at Clemson
