After a tough loss to Kansas, the conversation around NC State basketball quickly turned to defense - or more specifically, whether the Pack’s defensive strategy needed a shakeup. The chatter wasn’t without reason: three Kansas role players had career nights, torching NC State in ways that raised some eyebrows.
But here’s the thing - when you dig into what NC State was actually trying to do, the picture gets a lot clearer.
The Wolfpack’s defensive game plan was laser-focused on neutralizing the Jayhawks’ star player. The idea?
Force the ball out of the hands of the primary threat and make the supporting cast beat you. It’s a classic risk-reward strategy.
Sure, you might give up open looks to guys who aren’t usually high-volume scorers, but you’re also limiting the touches and rhythm of the player most capable of taking over a game.
Now, could NC State have adjusted better mid-game to contest those shots? Absolutely.
But there’s a trade-off. The more aggressively you close out on those role players, the more space you give the star to operate.
It becomes a game of pick your poison: do you want to live with good shots from average players, or bad shots from a great one?
In this case, NC State made their choice - and statistically, it was working.
Despite the Kansas result, the numbers told a different story. According to KenPom’s ‘luck rating,’ NC State ranked 318th nationally at the time - meaning they were one of the unluckiest teams in the country. In other words, the Pack were doing the right things defensively, but the ball just wasn’t bouncing their way.
But if you really want to understand how NC State’s defense has evolved, you have to look at what happened after what’s being dubbed Will Wade’s “Hostile Takeover.”
Since Wade took the reins with a more assertive approach, the Pack have been locking in defensively. Over a three-game stretch following that Kansas game, NC State posted an average Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (AdjD) of 87.4 - a number that would rank ahead of every team in the country except Michigan, who leads the nation with a season-long AdjD of 90.2. That’s elite territory.
And then came Texas Southern. NC State won comfortably on the scoreboard, but the defensive intensity dipped.
Wade wasn’t having it. His postgame comments made it clear: the standard had been set, and that performance didn’t meet it.
The response? A statement game against Ole Miss.
NC State came out with purpose and delivered their second-best defensive performance of the season. According to Bart Torvik’s metrics, the Pack posted an AdjD of 81.4 in that game - a number that again outpaces Michigan’s season average.
Since Wade’s takeover, NC State’s cumulative Adjusted Defensive Efficiency now sits at 91.16. To put that into perspective, only one team in the country - Michigan - has a better season-long defensive efficiency.
That’s not just improvement. That’s transformation.
So while the Kansas game sparked questions, the data since then has delivered answers. NC State’s defense, under Wade’s fiery leadership, has gone from inconsistent to elite. And if they can maintain this level of play, the Pack could become a nightmare matchup for anyone come tournament time.