North Carolina State is aiming for a second consecutive win over a mid-major opponent Wednesday night when it hosts Liberty in Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (6-3) have a big-time home matchup with No. 19 Kansas looming on Saturday but will use the contest against the Flames (6-2) to work on finding the edge that first-year head coach Will Wade has been demanding.
Wade voiced his frustrations with the Wolfpack players not showing enough effort and competitiveness in a recent interview with the team’s in-house radio show.
“We haven’t had an edge to us, even in our wins we haven’t had an edge to us all year. I’ve tried very calmly and very nicely. Look, you can only go so far with the head coach leading. I’ve tried to let the players take the reins on everything and do things. But it just hasn’t worked,” Wade said.
“… I tried to let it self-correct, but sometimes you’ve got to step in. That’s my job. I don’t care about being liked. I don’t care about how everybody feels.”
NC State is coming off a 75-63 victory over UNC Asheville, but is 0-3 this season against major conference opponents, losing to Seton Hall, Texas and Auburn.
Against UNC Asheville, the Wolfpack had 21 assists on 28 made baskets, but they also allowed the visitors to shoot 42% (10 of 24) from 3-point land.
The Wolfpack did get their best performance yet from North Carolina transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, who had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and also collected 12 rebounds.
Lubin (13.3) is one of five players averaging double digits in scoring. Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams leads the group with 16.7 points per game.
Liberty is coming off a dominant 92-50 home win over Coppin State. NC State will be the first Power 4 opponent the Flames have faced this season.
Brett Decker Jr. had 20 points for Liberty in the victory over the Eagles and leads the Flames in scoring this season with 19.6 points per game.
“He’s a lot of fun to play with. You obviously see me reaping the benefits of his abilities out there,” said Liberty forward Josh Smith, who had 16 points against Coppin State. “He’s so good. He sees the floor so well.”
