Yesterday evening in the PNC Arena, the Wolfpack faced off against Syracuse. The Wolfpack secured the win 88-68.
In the first half of the game NC State struggled with turnovers and a couple of faulty passes, but they remained consistent on defense – forcing seven turnovers against the Orange offense. Syracuse capitalized on the Wolfpack’s mistakes. As a result, at halftime, NC State was up by just four points.
Senior guard Darrian Williams ended the game with 23 points, while senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin dominated in the paint – finishing with 19 points. To close out the game the Wolfpack came out after halftime with better execution offensively – going on 9-2 run early in the second half and then another 13-1 run that ended any hopes for an Orange comeback.
Before last night’s game there was controversy surrounding Will Wadeās comments about wearing the throwback jerseys with the word āSTATEā on them. There was an email leaked from the NC State branding department regarding which jerseys should and should not be worn for games. On his weekly radio show Wade said he liked the throwback jerseys, but he doesnāt have the final say in what jerseys the team wears. In addition, he also mentioned that the University had a problem with him wearing the āSlobbering Wolfā logo on the sideline. According to the leaked email the throwback jerseys are prohibited and the āSTATEā on its own isn’t an approved mark.Ā
Fans are very passionate about the throwback jerseys and really want them to be worn and showcased; consequently, fans started attacking the branding department. In the press conference after the game, Will Wade publicly apologized to the department, stating, āI feel bad that innocent people who are affected by my comments.ā He mentioned how heās still learning coaching at a bigger school and next time he will give some truth, but not the full truth.
The next game for the Wolfpack will be Saturday, January 31s,t against Wake Forest, at LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem.Ā
