March Madness is finally here, and the Longhorns are officially in it this season as they're set to play North Carolina State tomorrow night in the play-in game.
Though Texas "should" be able to defeat the Wolfpack tomorrow, there are a few things that Longhorns fans need to know about NC State.
1. The Wolfpack are very efficient, don't turn the ball over
North Carolina State has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.689, which is good for 15th in all of college basketball right now. They do a great job of making smart, clean passes and rarely put the ball in harm's way, which is a big reason for their success this year.
Wolfpack PG Quadir Copeland is very safe with the ball and times up his passes very well, which not only helps the offense in transition but also prevents unnecessary turnovers throughout the game.
2. They're a very good three-point shooting team
NC State isn't talked about enough when it comes to three-point shooting, which is crazy because they're shooting 38.8% from deep in 2025/2026. That's the 10th-best mark in the NCAA right now, making them an incredibly dangerous team with the game on the line.
The Wolfpack isn't a team that you want to give the ball back to in the last minute, because they can score a lot of points fast. If Texas doesn't contest them from the three-point line, then things could get out of hand really quickly.
3. NC State is really bad at defending the three-point shot
On the flip side, North Carolina State is very bad at defending the three-point shot as well. They're currently giving up 9.4 3PT-makes per game, and allowing 26.5 attempts per game. This is a combined average of 333rd in the league.
The Wolfpack aren't the best when it comes to closing out threats on the outside, as they focus too much on their mid-range defense. I'm not sure if they recognize it too late, but they're very delayed when trying to get to the perimeter.