NC State Is Playing At 20th Ranked Auburn For ACC/ SEC Challenge Wednesday Night
NC State is playing at 20th ranked Auburn for ACC/ SEC Challenge Wednesday night
Where?
On the hardwood!
NC State comes into the ACC/ SEC Challenge with record of 5-2 because they lost their previous game to Texas on Wednesday November 26, 2025 when then they were ranked 23rd in AP Top 25 Poll in the Maui Invitational in Maui Hawaii.
In 23rd ranked NC State’s 102-97 loss to Texas in Maui Invitational as a team NC State shot 34-64 for 53 % on field goals 9-19 on 3 pointers., 20-28 on free throws for 71 % Four starters scored in double figures Darrion Williams who is a forward a senior was 3-10 on field goals , 2-5 on 3 pointers , 2-4 on free throws to go along with 4 rebounds 3 assists, . Ven - Allen Lubin who is a forward a senior a transfer from NC State’s tobacco road rival North Carolina was 10-14 on field goals , 3-4 on free throws to go along with 9 rebounds , 3 assists, 23 points . Paul McNeil Jr. who is a guard a sophomore was 6-11 on field goals , 3-6 on 3 pointers , 5-6 on free throws to go along with 3 rebounds , 2 steals. Quadir Copeland who is a guard a senior was 10-14 on field goals , 2-3 on 3 pointers to go along with 4 rebounds , 6 assists , 28 points.
According to espn app
Following NC State’s 102 -97 loss to Texas in Southwest Maui Invitational NC State senior guard Quadir Copeland who was 10-14 on field goals , 2-3 on 3 pointers to go along with 4 rebounds , 6 assists , 28 points shared his thoughts by saying This is a disappointing feeling. We let a lot of people down,”We had so many fans here. Apologize to the guys that came here and supported us. We had so many people here. We let them down. We let ourselves down. We let the staff down. We’re going to be better from this.”
Following NC State’s 102 -97 loss to Texas in Southwest Maui Invitational NC State Head Coach Will Wade shared his thoughts by saying Just not good enough on any facet. I didn’t have us prepared like we needed to, and just very disappointing game today and, quite frankly, just an incredibly disappointing week for us,” head coach Will Wade said. “This is not our standard. This is not what we strive to be. This was [an] extremely, extremely disappointing week.
I apologize to our fans. We had the most fans here,”“People sacrificed. People paid hard-earned money to watch us play, and they should be pissed. That’s why we’ve got passionate fans. That’s why we’ve got great fans. They’re upset, and they should be. This isn’t how we should be playing. This isn’t the standard which we play at.”
According to Jadyn Watson Fisher News & Observer article https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article313012473.html
Auburn meanwhile comes into ACC/ SEC Challenge with record of 6-2 is ranked 20th in this AP Top 25 Poll because unlike NC State Auburnwon their previous 85-74 though they were trailing St. Johns 39-30 at halftime.
As 21st ranked Auburn came from behind to beat St. John’s 85-74. As team Auburn shot 29-53 on field goals for 55% , 6-14 on 3 pointers 21-25 on free throws for 84% . Three players, starters scored in double figures. Keyshawn Hall who is a forward a senior was 5-11 on field goals , 1-3 on 3 pointers , 9-12 on free throws to go along 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 20 points. Kevin Overton who is a guard a junior was 3-7 on field goals , 1-2 on 3 pointers , 5-5 on free throws to go along 3 rebounds, 5 assists , 2 steals 12 points. Tahaad Pettiford who is a sophomore a guard was 10-19 on field goals , 3-8 on 3 pointers to go along 4 rebounds, 2 assists , 27 points.
According to ESPN App
Following 21st ranked Auburn coming from behind to beat St. Johns Steven Pearl who is Head Coach of Auburn who is the son of retired Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl shared his thoughts on his teams come from behind win by saying Proud of our guys. Obviously, yesterday, you know, it was not easy to lose the way we lost. It was a little deflating. Obviously we wanted to step up. We came here to win three games. To lose that game the way we did was not -- it was not how we play. They played really well. They had a lot to do with it. But still at the end of the day you never want to be in that position. First thing we said in the locker room was how are we going to respond, how are we going to bounce back from that. Lesser teams, you kind of see it across the country in these tournaments, when they lose by a wide margin like that, there's another let-down the next day.And I give our guys a lot of credit for not letting that happen. We go into halftime down nine. We played good basketball I thought for the first probably 10 minutes. We had a six- or seven-point lead. They obviously cut back into it. And some things were said at halftime that needed to be addressed. The two guys that are up here with me handled it like men. And that then obviously gave our team the courage and confidence to go out in the second half and outscore that team by 20 points. To scored 55 points and hold them to 35, they shot 34 percent in the second half, 38 percent from the game.
"Our defense really stepped up and carried us. Really proud of the effort, proud of the execution. To be in another difficult spot and to be able to fight and get a win against a ranked opponent, against a hall of fame coach, against a really good team, proud of our guys, proud of their step-up and proud of their bounce-back."
According to Nathan King 247Sports Article
Tip off is set for 9:15pm Eastern Time 8:15pm Central Time from Neville Arena with Kevin Brown, Cory Alexander commentating!
Kevin Brown serves as a play-by-play commentator on several college sports across ESPN platforms, including football, basketball and softball. He also calls NCAA championship action, serving as a voice on the NCAA Div. I Hockey Championship and Women’s College World Series dayside coverage. Brown has also called Little League games on ESPN, and MLB on ESPN Radio.
In addition to his duties at ESPN, Brown is a TV and radio commentator for the Baltimore Orioles, a role he began in 2019.
From 2010 to 2017, he was the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. He was also the lead voice of the team, calling radio and television broadcasts.
Brown is a graduate of Newhouse School at Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism.Cory Alexander joined ESPN in 2009, working as college basketball analyst on ESPN and ACC Network.
Before joining ESPN, Alexander worked as an analyst for the University of Virginia radio network and was an ACC Network commentator for Raycom Sports. He launched the Cory Alexander Basketball School in August 1995 and he still operates it as the owner and president.
His last season in the NBA came with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004-2005, and he previously played for the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets. His first three seasons were spent with the San Antonio Spurs after they drafted him 29th overall in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft.
A 1995 graduate from the University of Virginia with a bachelor of science degree in psychology, Alexander is a native Waynesboro, Va. A four-year letterwinner, he ranks eighth in UVA history with 401 assists and 24th on their all-time scoring list with 1,286 points. Alexander earned second-team All-ACC honors and a gold medal at the FIBA U21 World Championship in 1993. Alexander was a McDonald’s All-American and Parade First Team All-American in 1991 at Oak Hill Academy (Va.).
According to https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/kevin-brown/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/cory-alexander/