NC State brought a different energy for its third game of 2026 against No. 10 Virginia. After two blowout losses, Coach Will Wade and his squad stepped into the Spectrum Center hoping to earn a statement win in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals — and a late second-half surge put that win in reach.
The Cavaliers (28-4, 15-3 ACC), however, have built recent experience in end-of-game situations — holding one-possession leads in the last 10 seconds of their last two games — and were able to weather the Wolfpack (20-13, 10-8 ACC), eking an 81-74 win to punch a ticket to the conference tournament semifinals.
“It started with our defense,” Coach Ryan Odom said. “We were forcing some misses and then we were able to get out and play in transition.”
Having held NC State to 5-20 and 9-33 shooting from distance in their previous matchups, Virginia again made perimeter defense a focus against the Wolfpack — but with markedly worse results. The defense had some initial success, as NC State relied more on senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin, an interior force who drew two quick fouls from freshman center Johann Grünloh as he bulldozed his way to the rim.
Grünloh’s foul trouble forced senior center Ugonna Onyenso to play a season-high 30 minutes. Honored with the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award pregame, Onyenso played a clean and effective game against the Wolfpack, swatting eight shots for the second time on the season while adding eight points and six rebounds to the statsheet. He is now the second player in Virginia history with two games with eight or more blocks in a season, the other being Ralph Sampson.
“I played some years overseas, and that's probably the best shot blocker [I’ve] ever [seen] in my life,” freshman forward Thijs De Ridder said. “He's making us better in practice, too — we have to score over him.”
The Wolfpack had built an early lead in the game with an 11-5 run to open play. Lubin, sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr. and freshman wing Matt Able combined for 24 of NC State’s 32 first-half points, with the latter two able to attack closeouts caused by Lubin and senior guard Quadir Copeland’s drives.
Virginia kept the game close, not allowing the Wolfpack to build a lead larger than six points. Freshman forward Thijs De Ridder and junior wing Sam Lewis both sank two threes, and four first-half steals led to nine points in the fast break. After De Ridder’s second made three of the half — assisted by Lewis — the Cavaliers led 33-32 at halftime.
“We got the lead to six a couple times in the first half, and then we wasted some possessions,” Wade said. “We took a bunch of mid range jump shots, a bunch of fadeaways. We got bottled up, which is what their defense does. That really bothered us and stunted us from being able [to] stretch the lead.”
A pair of Copeland free throws to start the second half retook the lead for NC State, before a pair of threes from Lewis and graduate guard Malik Thomas gave Virginia a five-point lead. McNeil Jr. — who went on to lead the game in scoring after a 19-point second half — then sunk two in back-to-back possessions, giving the Wolfpack their last lead of the game at the 17:42 mark.
Scoring effectively on the interior and in transition, the Cavaliers proceeded to build a 12-point lead at the eight-minute mark. Thomas played excellent basketball off two feet in the paint, making a handful of key baskets and finding teammates on the perimeter to keep the offense moving. NC State attempted to find momentum off of McNeil’s perimeter shooting, but Lewis and graduate guard Jacari White both hit well-timed threes of their own to break any Wolfpack run.
Able, Copeland and McNeil Jr., playing fast and tough basketball, were the only NC State players to score through the last five minutes of play, but were able to cut the Cavaliers lead to five in the final two minutes, and then four in the last 30 seconds.
Virginia going 7-8 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes as well as a clutch Onyenso block and pair Thomas rebounds in the last 30 seconds, ultimately made the difference. The Wolfpack was unable to convert any of their late heaves to turn the game into a one-possession affair, while the Cavaliers held their lead to secure the game.
The Cavaliers will play Miami Friday, in a semifinal matchup billed to start at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will go onto the conference tournament finals Saturday evening at 8:30 p.m.
“It's a do-or-die tournament,” De Ridder said. “So we have to rest as [quickly] as possible, have to stay together and we will get the job done.”
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