NC State Season Ends With Loss To Texas: Will NC State Always Be Third Place In The Triangle?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss NC State’s narrow tournament loss to Texas, evaluate Will Wade’s coaching and postgame comments, break down Darrion Williams’ season performance—including whether he lived up to his preseason Player of the Year expectations—and debate whether NC State can realistically move past a third-place spot in the Triangle behind UNC and Duke.

The NC State Wolfpack’s season came to a dramatic end last night with a 68-66 loss to the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament First Four, decided in the final seconds. Texas guard Tramon Mark led the way with 17 points and knocked down a go-ahead jumper with about one second remaining, while NC State was paced by Darrion Williams, who finished with 21 points. Although NC State made a push with timely three-point shooting to get back into the game, Texas executed better down the stretch with clutch shot-making and free throws and the Wolfpack were unable to generate a clean look on their final possession. The loss ends NC State’s season at 20-14 overall and eliminates them before reaching the main 64-team bracket, while Texas advances to face BYU and it also caps a difficult finish for the Wolfpack, who dropped eight of their last ten games, raising questions about late-season consistency and execution. How do we evaluate Will Wade's season? Did the Pack disappoint or was the season successful? Back in October, Darrion Williams was named the 2025-26 ACC Preseason Player of the Year and Reese was one of the voters. What do we think of Darrion Williams' season? Will NC State always be third place in the triangle behind UNC and Duke?