The Will Wade era at NC State is rapidly approaching. And as the 21st coach in program history prepares to kick off his tenure with the Wolfpack, the program announced its non-conference schedule Wednesday afternoon. Wade, who spent the last two years at McNeese, set the tone for a strong non-conference slate at his introductory […]
The Will Wade era at NC State is rapidly approaching. And as the 21st coach in program history prepares to kick off his tenure with the Wolfpack, the program announced its non-conference schedule Wednesday afternoon.
Wade, who spent the last two years at McNeese, set the tone for a strong non-conference slate at his introductory press conference inside Reynolds Coliseum.
“We’re going to challenge ourselves in the ACC, we’re going to challenge ourselves in the non-conference,” Wade said when he was hired. “You can’t be the best playing a bunch of bad teams. You get better by playing the best teams in the country.
“At McNeese, we had the 21st-ranked non-conference schedule in the country. That was at McNeese. We’re going to play the best. We’re going to challenge the best. We’ll schedule some Hall of Fame coaches if we need to.”
Wade held steady to his desire to challenge the Wolfpack early and often ahead of ACC play as he is looking to position NC State for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in March. The Pack will face off with five NCAA Tournament teams from last season, including a tough December that will feature three of college basketball’s top-performing programs.
NC State will begin the “Red Reckoning” with a four-game homestand, opening the campaign against NC Central on Nov. 3. The Wolfpack will then host UAB (Nov. 7), UNCG (Nov. 12) and VCU (Nov. 17), the defending Atlantic 10 champions and a program that Wade led for two seasons, before leaving Raleigh.
The Wolfpack will then travel to the Maui Invitational, where it will square off with Seton Hall (Nov. 24) and either Boise State or USC (Nov. 25). NC State is guaranteed a third game at the event, but the opponent is to be determined as the bracket shakes out.
Once NC State returns back from Hawaii, it will visit Auburn (Dec. 3) in the ACC-SEC Challenge before hosting UNC Asheville (Dec. 6), a program led by Mike Morrell, one of Wade’s longest-running friendships in college basketball dating back to their time at Clemson and VCU together. The tilt with UNC Asheville begins the team’s second four-game homestand as Liberty (Dec. 10) and Kansas (Dec. 13) will visit the Lenovo Center.
Texas Southern, meanwhile, is the annual Heritage Game at Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 17. The Wolfpack will close the non-conference slate against Ole Miss at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro on Dec. 21.
NC State’s ACC schedule will be released at a future date. The Wolfpack is set to host Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, while playing Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Virginia and Wake Forest on the road.
Tip-off times and television designations for all games will be released at a later date.
2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule
Monday, Nov. 3 – NC Central
Friday, Nov. 7 – UAB
Wednesday, Nov. 12 – UNCG
Monday, Nov. 17 – VCU
Monday, Nov. 24 – Seton Hall $
Tuesday, Nov. 25 – Boise State or USC $
Wednesday, Nov. 26 – Opponent TBD $
Wednesday, Dec. 3 – at Auburn #
Saturday, Dec. 6 – UNC Asheville
Wednesday, Dec. 10 – Liberty
Saturday, Dec. 13 – Kansas
Wednesday, Dec. 17 – Texas Southern !
Sunday, Dec. 21 – vs. Ole Miss in Greensboro
$ – Southwest Maui Invitational
# – ACC/SEC Challenge
! – Heritage Game in Reynolds Coliseum
Category: General Sports
