NC State 98, Pittsburgh 88 — Wolfpack Survive

NC State 98, Pittsburgh 88

Look, nobody expected Pitt to come in and give NC State fits like that. But for a good stretch of Wednesday's ACC Tournament opener in Charlotte, the Panthers were cooking — hitting threes, making noise, looking every bit like a team that didn't care about seeding. And then NC State just... turned it on.

The Panthers Opened Up a Can

Pitt came out of the gate firing from deep. Like, uncomfortably so. They hit nine of their first 16 three-point attempts and built a 34-25 lead with under eight minutes left in the half. Cameron Corhen was everywhere — he'd finish with a career-high 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, which, yeah, that's a crazy line for a game you lose. Omari Witherspoon and Nojus Indrusaitis each went off for 19 — career highs for both. Indrusaitis knocked down five threes. On a different night, against a different team, Pitt probably wins that game.

But they weren't playing a different team.

NC State Said "Not Today"

Down nine and looking a little shaky, the Wolfpack pieced together a 26-16 run to close the half — including 13 straight unanswered points at one point — and somehow walked into the locker room up 51-50. Just one of those swings where the momentum shifts and you can feel the whole building change.

Then they came out of halftime and just stomped on the gas. NC State went on a 12-2 run before Pitt even scored a basket in the second half. The lead ballooned to 63-52, then kept growing. Quadir Copeland was doing everything — 24 points, 8 assists, 2 steals. He was the engine the whole night. Ven-Allen Lubin added 18, Paul McNeil Jr. dropped 15, Tre Holloman chipped in 14. Four guys in double figures, all playing with purpose.

The Game Was Over at 2:13

Pitt actually made a little run late, trimming it to five (86-81) around the five-minute mark and giving their fans something to hold onto. But then State got a flagrant foul call on a Lubin alley-oop attempt — he got shoved in the back — and Lubin cashed both free throws. McNeil Jr. immediately followed with an easy layup. Four-point possession, 11-point lead, ballgame.

Final Take

NC State shot 60.8% from the field and 56.5% from three. That's not a typo. Hard to beat a team doing that. Pitt's night was genuinely impressive — three guys with career performances in a loss is tough to process — but the Wolfpack were just a different level once they locked in.

State advances. Pitt goes home with a bunch of career highs and probably some complicated feelings about it.