The Tobacco Road Scribe
Raleigh, NC – On February 17, 2026, the atmosphere inside the PNC Arena didn’t just feel like a rivalry game; it felt like a reckoning. Coming off a demoralizing loss to Miami the previous Saturday, NC State stepped onto the hardwood facing a crossroads: either putter toward a mediocre finish or find the “bite” required to redefine their season.
What followed was a 40-minute statement—a generational clearing of the decks. By the time the final horn sounded, the Wolfpack had secured its largest margin of victory over North Carolina since 1962. This wasn’t a tactical fluke; it was a program recalibrating its identity in real-time, fueled by a mixture of schematic aggression and raw, blood-stained grit.
The “Ben Day” Narrative: Unconditional Loyalty
In the era of the transfer portal, the “soul” of a rivalry is often questioned. Ven-Allen Luben provided the answer. For Luben, the emotional stakes were personal, and the locker room treated the matchup with a singular, protective focus. Quadir Copeland described the energy as a “Ven Day,” drawing a direct parallel to the emotional high he felt playing against Syracuse.
The narrative wasn’t about revenge, but about a team adopting an individual’s burden as their own. Coach Will Wade emphasized that while his “love is unconditional,” his “like” is earned through the kind of reliability Luben displayed on the court.
“I told him today, I said, ‘Man, we got your back. We’ll get it for you.’ Like, we got your back. It meant a lot to him.” — Coach Will Wade
Blood, Stitches, and the “Warrior” Mentality
If Luben provided the heart, Darrion Williams provided the anatomy of the win. In the first half, Williams went down in a pool of blood, a visual reminder of the game’s physical toll. He left the court to receive stitches in his eye and stitches on his arm, only to emerge from the locker room in a fresh jersey for the second half.
His return acted as a psychological catalyst. Seeing a leader compete with visible facial trauma silenced any minor grievances on the bench. Copeland was blunt in his assessment, calling Williams a “warrior” and a “straight dog.” In the hierarchy of team culture, Williams’ return was the moment the Wolfpack’s leadership was cemented; it’s hard to complain about a sore ankle when your teammate is diving for loose balls with a stitched-up eye.
The Bedazzled Belt: Turning the Tables
The most “Athletic-style” moment of the night occurred post-game. NC State’s players didn’t just celebrate; they arrived at the press conference brandishing a bedazzled championship belt. The accessory was a calculated jab at North Carolina’s recent rhetoric about “owning North Carolina schools.”
The belt—which the team specifically bedazzled for Luben—signaled a shift toward “demonstrative play.” The flexing, the posing, and the jewelry were more than just bravado; they were symbols of a team reclaiming the narrative. As Copeland noted with a grin, “It’s crazy how fast them tables turn.” The Wolfpack didn’t just win the game; they seized the brand.
Tactical Grit: Hunting Small Guards and “Diesel”
From a strategist’s perspective, Wade’s game plan was a masterclass in mismatch hunting. NC State identified a glaring weakness in the Tar Heels’ lineup: small guards.
The Wolfpack utilized what Wade called “porch actions,” a series of physical post-ups designed to back down UNC’s perimeter defenders. Copeland and Matt Able didn’t just shoot over the defense; they punished it, using their size to create easy looks in the paint. Quadir noted that “Diesel” (Ben Allen Luben) had mismatches almost the entire night, an advantage the team exploited relentlessly.
Defensively, the Pack was “overly aggressive” on the perimeter. By jumping passing lanes and pressuring the ball, they neutralized UNC’s post threats before the ball could even get inside. The result was seven steals and a disrupted rhythm that the Tar Heels never recovered from.
The “Young Bull” and the First-Play Pivot
The trajectory of the game changed in seconds when Tre Holloman went down on the very first play. Enter Matt Able. The “Young Bull,” as his teammates call him, didn’t just fill a spot—he ignited the arena. Able finished with a career-high 19 points, including 5-of-7 from deep.
But the “story behind the box score” wasn’t just the shooting. It was the dirty work. Copeland pointed to a specific free-throw rebound Able secured as the moment the momentum permanently shifted. It was a sign of a freshman “buying in” to the winning side of the game rather than chasing individual accolades.
The “Casualty” of the New ACC
Despite the historic victory, the reality of conference expansion loomed over the post-game discussion. Due to the shift from 20 to 18 conference games, this was the only scheduled meeting between the rivals this season.
Wade was candid, calling the lack of a home-and-home a “casualty” of the collective good. The scheduling change is a metric-driven move, designed to bolster the NET rankings and help the ACC secure 9 or 10 tournament bids, with Wade name-dropping programs like Virginia Tech and Cal as potential beneficiaries of the new structure. While it helps the conference’s national standing, it robs the fans of the sport’s greatest twice-yearly spectacle.
Sprinting Through the Finish Line
NC State has positioned itself as a formidable threat heading into March, but the message from the coaching staff is clear: the focus must narrow. The win over Carolina is a massive resume builder, but it only matters if the “edge” displayed in Raleigh can be sustained.
Wade’s final directive to his team was simple: “We want to sprint through the finish line. We don’t want to just kind of putter.”
The Wolfpack proved they have the tactical depth to exploit mismatches and the physical toughness to play through stitches. The question that will define their post-season is whether they can maintain this specific “bite” when the bedazzled belts are put away and the pressure of the tournament begins to mount. If tonight was any indication, they aren’t just running—they’re accelerating.