A Pack(ed) game

NC State shrugs off a strange start in its win over UNC Greensboro. Plus: Missouri heats up, Houston and Tennessee roll, and there was a wild finish out west. We also dive into more with this freshman class, some Big East concerns and the start of the early signing period.

Author

Mike Miller
November 13, 2025

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Good morning! You’re inching toward the weekend and there’s an awesome college hoops matchup tonight. Things are looking up.

Let’s dive into Wednesday’s news.

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1. NC State’s win over UNC Greensboro had everything

N.C. State really is must-see TV this season. You never know what’s coming for Will Wade’s crew.

Case in point: Wednesday’s 110-64 win over UNC Greensboro saw Tre Holloman get ejected (officials said he slapped a player in the face), Wade go back-and-forth with the officials for the rest of the first half, then Darrion Williams erupt for a career-high 32 points and Paul McNeil also score a career-high 27.

Seriously, this NC State team (3-0) is something else. And with upcoming games against VCU (Monday), then the Maui Invitational, we’ll see just how good this team can be.

“We've got five high-major games coming up,” Wade said. “We've got the VCU game, three in Maui, and then at Auburn. So it's about to get real, real quick. And we're gonna have to play better. What worked in these games won't work against VCU.”

It’ll help when they can play a more free-flowing game. Officials called 24 fouls in the first 17 minutes and the teams attempted 40 free throws. Thankfully, Williams took over in the second half (he hit six 3-pointers) and the Wolfpack pulled away, removing any further drama.

Well, maybe some drama. The Spartans attempted 41 free throws, while NC State only took 23. That didn’t sit well with Wade.

"It's absolutely impossible statistically to outscore someone by 30+ points in the paint like we did tonight but have have almost 20 less foul shots,” he said. "It's actually impossible. Find a game like that in the past 10 years."

Can’t wait for Maui.

2. Missouri finds its groove + more Wednesday results

Dennis Gates has never been shy about using his bench. Wednesday’s 83-60 win over Minnesota showed why.

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