The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1536961
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN T he ACC-SEC Challenge is back in its third iteration for the 2025-26 season. While the marquee nonconference pair- ings are set to pit the leagues' best teams against each other, both the NC State men's and women's basketball squads will hit the road for their annual tilts. Led by first-year coach Will Wade, the Wolfpack men will travel to Auburn on Dec. 3. The NC State women, mean- while, are set to visit Oklahoma on the same night. Both games will air on the ESPN family of networks. The NC State men are 0-2 in the ACC-SEC Challenge, with a 72-52 defeat at Ole Miss in 2023 and a 63-59 loss to Texas this past season. The women's team has fared better in the event, going 2-0 with a 70-62 victory over Vanderbilt in 2023 and a 68-61 win over then-No. 17 Ole Miss last sea- son. Overall, the NC State men are 4-2 against Auburn, with the most recent meeting, a 79-73 loss, coming in the 2019-20 campaign. The Tigers, who made the Final Four this past season, return star guard Tahaad Pettiford, but do not have any of their top three scorers back from the SEC champion- ship-winning squad. Auburn reloaded its roster through the transfer portal, landing On3's No. 10 class, headlined by Central Florida transfer Keyshawn Hall. T h e Wo l f p a c k wo m e n h ave ye t to face Oklahoma in the program's 51-year history. The Sooners, who reached the Sweet 16 this past March, return their top three scorers in Raegan Beers, Payton Verhulst and Sahara Williams. They also added the nation's top freshman in Gatorade National Player of the Year Aaliyah Chavez. Oklahoma is 1-0 in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Last year, it upset then-No. 22 Louisville, 78-72, at the KFC Yum! Center. In addition to their matchup with Auburn, the NC State men will face K a n s a s o n D e c . 1 3, a n d V i rg i n i a Commonwealth and Liberty at dates to be determined. The Pack will also play in the Maui Invitational in Hawai'i from Nov. 24-26. Other teams slated to participate are Arizona State, Boise State, Chaminade, Seton Hall, Texas, USC and Washington State. Ole Miss is another likely noncon- ference foe. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported in late June that NC State was in the process of finalizing an agree- ment with the SEC program to play in neutral-site contests over the next two seasons. The Pack and Rebels will reportedly play this season at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro on Dec. 21 before moving the game closer to Ole Miss during the 2026-27 cam- paign. M e a n w h i l e , t h e AC C s c h e d u l e is also coming together. In June, NC State's pairings were announced for the upcoming conference season. The Pack will play only two home-and- home series as part of the new 18-game schedule format. Those opponents are Virginia and Wake Forest. The home-only schedule features Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North C a ro l i n a , S ta n fo rd , Sy ra c u s e a n d Virginia Tech. The road-only slate includes Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt and SMU. This will be the first time since the 1918-19 season that UNC and NC State haven't faced each other in Chapel Hill. On the women's side, NC State has a nonconference matchup with Tennessee set for Nov. 4 at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. The Pack will also face USC on Nov. 9 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. In addi- tion, the Pack will play in the Cancun Challenge Nov. 27-29. Other teams set to participate include Purdue, Texas Christian and Alabama Birmingham. ■ NC State Basketball Schedules Taking Shape UConn Guard Joins Wolfpack Women Fresh off a national championship at Connecticut, transfer guard Qa- dence Samuels signed with NC State, the program announced on May 30. Samuels averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in her first two years of college basketball and will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Wolfpack. "We're excited to add Qadence to the Pack," head coach Wes Moore said in a statement. "She is someone we followed and recruited through- out her high school career. Offen- sively, she has the ability to score at all three-levels. Her length and athleticism make her a playmaker on the defensive end and a factor on the boards. I know our fans will enjoy her energy as well." Samuels was ranked as the No. 41 recruit in the 2023 cycle by ESPN coming out of Bishop McNamara High in Forestville, Md. She brings 69 games of collegiate experience to Raleigh, including four games in which she scored in double figures. When the Huskies faced NC State at Reynolds Coliseum in November 2023, she hit 4 three-pointers and totaled 14 points in 23 minutes. Samuels appeared in 33 games this past season, including two minutes in Connecticut's 82-59 win over South Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Samuels brings NC State's scholarship roster to 10 players. The Pack will boast a standout backcourt duo in rising junior Zoe Brooks and sophomore Zamareya Jones, but it needed experienced depth, and the UConn transfer checks that box. — Noah Fleischman Qadence Samuels spent her first two seasons at Connecticut before announcing in May that she was headed to NC State. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS