NC State gets one more home test Friday night before the season-opening homestand is in the books, and the Wolfpack will try to keep the early momentum rolling against Troy at the Lenovo Center.
The Pack is 3-0 after Tuesday’s 94-60 win over Presbyterian, a game that looked lopsided on the scoreboard and on the glass. NC State finished with a 52-32 rebounding edge and grabbed 20 offensive boards, its highest total in that category since getting 23 against Nebraska on Dec. 1, 2021 in a four-overtime game. It was also the most offensive rebounds for an NC State team in a regulation game since Nov. 20, 2014, when the Pack had 20 in a 79-43 win over Jacksonville.
Ven-Allen Lubin and Paul McNeil, Jr. powered that win with double-doubles. Lubin posted 21 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and the 20th of his career. McNeil added 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double.
NC State has also gotten a big lift from Preston Edmead, who led the Pack past ETSU last Friday with 20 points, a career-best 10 assists and no turnovers. That stat line is rare company in program history: it’s the 17th time an NC State player has finished with double-digit assists and zero turnovers, and only the third time a player has had 20 or more points, 10 or more assists and zero turnovers, joining Sidney Lowe and Jarkel Joiner.
The offense has been sharing the ball at a high level, too. NC State has assists on nearly 62% of its made field goals this season, with 57 assists on 92 baskets, and three players have already set new career highs in assists: Edmead with 10, Christian Hammond with 6 and Lubin with 4.
Hammond has been one of the most reliable sparks off the bench. The senior guard has not started any of the three games, but he has scored in double figures every time out, making him one of only two players on the roster to do that along with McNeil. Hammond is averaging 13.3 points, leads the team with seven steals and ranks third in minutes at 26.9 per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three.
That bench production has been a real weapon for NC State. The Pack’s reserves have outscored its three opponents 87-44, and Tuesday’s 41 bench points against Presbyterian were the most since NC State also had 41 against Louisville on Feb. 12, 2025.
There’s been a pattern to the way the Pack has separated from opponents in each game. Against Campbell, NC State allowed just one field goal over the final 11:19 of the first half and closed on a 28-3 run.
Against ETSU, the Pack trailed by 10 with 15:42 left but held the Bucs to three field goals the rest of the way while finishing on a 35-11 run. Against Presbyterian, NC State kept the Blue Hose without a field goal over the final 7:52 of the first half and turned a 27-16 lead into a 42-19 halftime advantage.
The three-point shooting has been just as steady. NC State has hit double-digit threes in all three games, made 34 total from long range and is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. In the first two games, at least seven different players knocked down a three-pointer, and against Presbyterian, four players made multiple threes.
Lubin has been especially efficient. Last season, he led the ACC and finished third in the NCAA in field goal percentage, making 66.8 percent of his shots. Through the first week-plus of the 2026-27 season, he is shooting 69.0 percent from the field and ranks second in the ACC in that category.
McNeil’s perimeter touch has also stayed hot. He has made a three-pointer in 12 straight games, connecting on 32 of his last 33, and after hitting three against Presbyterian, he has now made multiple threes in 11 of his last 12 games.
There was one streak that ended Tuesday: Kyle Evans, who led the nation in shot blocks last season, did not record a block after getting two in each of the first two games. That snapped a run of 40 straight games with at least one block.
Friday also brings a familiar face back to Raleigh. Troy head coach Adam Howard was on NC State’s staff last season as the team’s offensive coordinator, and the Wolfpack averaged 83.2 points per game, its highest mark in more than 37 years. That team also set school records with 348 made threes and 897 attempts from deep.
There are other ties as well. Troy second-year player Jayme Kontuniemi was on NC State’s roster last season but did not appear in a game, and Troy video coordinator Alex Nunnally spent three years as a walk-on with the Pack from 2021-2024. His final NC State season came on the 2024 team that won the ACC Tournament and reached the Final Four.
The matchup is also a first for the programs. NC State has never faced Troy before, and the Pack enters with a 32-1 record against current Sun Belt Conference teams. More broadly, NC State has gone 75-4 against non-conference opponents in regular-season home games dating back to the 2016-17 season.
In Other News...
NC State Heads Into Syracuse With A Depth Chart Problem Again
NC States first availability report for its final home game against Syracuse brought another reminder of how thin the Wolfpack has become in spots as the season winds down. The list included several players already dealing with injuries from earlier in the year and more recent games, with safety Ronnie Royal III and linebacker Popo Aguirre both ruled out after colliding in the previous contest.
The quarterback room also took a hit, as backup Will Wilsons status moved backward to out, leaving the Wolfpack to sort through another week of uncertainty on the depth chart. A handful of other players landed in the questionable or probable categories, which means there is still some late-week sorting to do before NC State takes the field against Syracuse. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces Early Test It Needs To Pass Cleanly
The Wolfpack get an early-season checkpoint Friday night when Troy comes to the Lenovo Center for a 7 p.m. tip on ACC Network, a game that should tell a lot about how quickly NC State is settling in under game conditions. Troy arrives with a new head coach in Adam Howard, and the matchup brings a familiar mix of questions for the home side: whether the Wolfpack can control the glass, defend the arc and keep the game from turning into the kind of test that exposes sloppy habits this time of year.
NC State also has a few personnel details worth watching, including the status of Shah Hall, while the coaching backdrop adds another layer to a game that is more than a routine nonconference date. For a team trying to establish a clean early baseline, this is the kind of opponent that can make the evening feel straightforward if the Wolfpack handle the basics, or uncomfortably close if they do not. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Flexed The Identity Wolfpack Fans Have Been Waiting To See
For a team still trying to settle into its own personality, Sundays 94-60 win over Presbyterian offered a clear snapshot of what NC State wants to be. The Wolfpack controlled the glass, bullied its way to easy looks in the paint and got a major lift from a bench that piled up 41 points, all while holding Presbyterian to a low shooting percentage in the first half. It was the kind of physical, connected effort that can travel once the competition gets tougher.
Ven-Allen Lubin set the tone with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and Paul McNeil Jr. added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to reinforce the edge NC State showed inside. The challenge now is whether this kind of frontcourt dominance and second-unit production can become more than a one-game statement, because the Wolfpack looked like a team with a clearer identity than the one fans have been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]