NC State clobbered at Wake Forest for second straight ACC loss

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — NC State fell behind by as much as 22 points in a 77-69 loss at Wake Forest to fall to 8-6 (1-2 ACC) on the season in Winston-Salem. Marcus Hill led the way with 14 points on 12 shots, but the Wolfpack shot 33 percent from the floor in the second half and lost the turnover battle, rebounding battle and had just two assists in the second half in a lopsided loss.

Here are the immediate takeaways from NC State’s first ACC game of the 2025 portion of the season in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest.

Slow Start in Each Half Dooms Pack

The Wolfpack did a lot of clawing back to make it a game at the end of each half, but trailed by double digits at the under-12 in each due to poor shooting and turnovers. In the first half, the Wolfpack only got off three shots in the first 5:55 of play due to four early turnovers that prevented it from getting into offensive sets. The Pack was able to take advantage of Hunter Sallis and Efton Reid both going to the bench with two fouls late, but couldn’t overcome the early deficit to go into the half down 38-32.

By the midway point of the second half, State already had 10 turnovers, which is more than it averages per game on the season at 9.8. The Pack was also shooting 5-of-17 as a team in the second half by that point, which led to a 14-point deficit with 9:02 remaining in the game. It didn’t help that Wake got an unbelievable effort from Sallis — who had 13 of his 20 points in the second half — and Juke Harris scoring 14 points in the first half, but the Pack’s shooting woes and early turnovers in each half were the tipping point.

Middlebrooks Does Little In Return

Not only did Ben Middlebrooks return to the court after missing Tuesday’s game against Virginia, he got the start along with Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. That was short lived, however, as Wake got out to an early lead and NC State went back to a smaller lineup and Middlebrooks was mostly ineffective outside of one first-half block.

He did very little in the second half, either, finishing with a grand total of four points on two missed shots on the floor and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Middlebrooks returned to the court late, missed a 3-pointer and was called for his fourth foul just before the under-4 media timeout. On a day where he finished with just one total rebound in more than 20 minutes played, it was not the return the Pack needed.

Half-Court Offensive Issues Continue

It’s been an issue all season long, but it was a glaring one for the Wolfpack on Saturday in Winston-Salem. The Wolfpack got 14 points off turnovers compared to 11 for Wake Forest and the fact that State once again got just two total assists in the second half for a second straight game proves how little the Pack is moving the ball in ACC play thus far.

State has talked about playing together, focusing on the little things and not allowing the ball to get stuck. But after fighting back late in the first half, all of those aspects were let downs for State as it watched a two-point deficit one minute into the second half dissipate into as much as a 22-point lead for the Deacs with 4:58 left to play. Shooting 33 percent — including 1-of-6 from behind the arc — with two assists to seven turnovers in the second half will do that to a team.