Statement Made: 82 is Way More than 58

The goals for the Will Wade era in Raleigh extend far beyond beating some decent UNC teams, but for a myriad of reasons that started piling up in the offseason, he really needed to win this game. 

Wade’s, um, unique persona has obvious appeal to a program that has spent a lot of its recent existence feeling like it’s been discarded by the sport’s power brokers. State used to be the premier program in the state. I don’t need to rehash Valvano’s downfall, UNC’s decades-long cheating scandal that got erased, the inflation of the Duke-UNC game, etc. Nobody is more at fault for NC State's long journey through the wilderness than NC State itself, but all of these things remain part of the story of the Triangle as it stands, and they're particularly relevant if you wish to understand Will Wade. Right or wrong, State is a salty program, and a lot of that will naturally manifest itself in the program’s relationship with its holier-than-thou neighbors. The base craved a guy who was willing to punch up.

Wade talked the talk immediately, most notably when he ripped on Hubert Davis for not playing Ven-Allen Lubin enough. Darrion Williams specifically calling them out at media day is an extension of the same “come and get it” persona. When you tell someone to come and get it, and they eventually come, you better make sure they get it. If you’re going to brand the season as a reckoning for the last 30 years, you better change the status quo. 

On Tuesday night, NC State packed UNC neatly into a box and then punted that box off the 64 bridge into Jordan Lake. 

This was a beatdown, and one where you could tell that everyone understood the assignment. NC State will be a tournament team, and this game won’t matter more than Clemson, SMU, Auburn, Duke, or any of the postseason games in determining the fate of the season. “Beating UNC” isn’t the goal, but in year one, this was the first opportunity to leave a footprint, to make a statement, to send a clear message that we ain’t perfect, but you best be damn sure we’re serious. 

Quadir Copeland delivered the goods. This man is a psychopath. Ask a player for his pregame routine, and you might hear about meditation, a specific playlist, or something that creates the right headspace. Copeland prefers to yell at the other team in the layup line. He’s unintimidated, and State should always have that in its leadership. Playing tight at home against UNC was a yearly tradition for a while. Putting that type of attitude to bed is what a lot of this reckoning talk is about. The senior guard went for 20 and 7 and was excellent guarding the ball on defense. He had been a liability the last few games on that end, but the focus and intensity was high. 

The same can be said for Darrion Williams, who cracked his head open on the floor but still managed to locate the menace in the post that we thought he would be all year. Williams shot over 60% from two and shot 6/10 in just 17 minutes. He also guarded the ball well on the perimeter, something he has definitely not done all year.

About the only thing State didn’t do well was defend in transition, which is a feature, not a bug. It’s amazing what this group can do when it isn’t making mistakes in halfcourt defense communication every third time down the floor. UNC’s guards are not good, and that helps, but this was an elite defensive effort from a team that’s been a bit of a random results generator this season.

State made UNC work for its points. It was the aggressor. It set the tone of how this game would be played. Too many times, that shoe had been on the other foot, but it was NC State this time that said "this is what we're going to do, do you want it?" And it was UNC who capitulated.