DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 19: Zoe Brooks #35 of the NC State Wolfpack goes to the basket against Taina Mair #22 of the Duke Blue Devils in the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 19, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesSteven MumaFri, February 27, 2026 at 3:39 AM UTC·1 min readOf all the games NC State has played this season, this was certainly one of them. A dreadful effort from start to finish, where the defensive intensity lacked in the first half and execution at the offensive end was poor throughout, but the lengthy stretches of inconsistency didn’t matter because Wake Forest is just that bad.
You’d think that, given what is on the line, and the fact that this was the last home game of the season, the team might feel a little bit of urgency, but there was none of that, and instead they let a very bad team hang around for no reason.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe game never felt in doubt—Wake Forest has had its inspirational performances against State, but this was not one of them. It was just confusing.
Wake Forest chose to bog this game down by playing 2-3 zone and sending nobody to the offensive glass for the duration. That 2-3 was so bad it reminded my of my days in intramurals, but anyway, NC State just had a rough time executing despite having all kinds of opportunities. The timing was not there, and the results followed.
This team is so frustrating, and I’m not used to getting battered like this at the same time by both sides of NC State basketball. But we carry on.
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