In a showdown of ACC teams, NC State was thoroughly bested by the Duke Blue Devils, with the Wolfpack losing by 29 in a 93-64 defeat.

Addressing the loss, head coach Will Wade let it be known that he wasn't too surprised to see the Blue Devils come out on top, as the Wolfpack simply isn't in the same weight class as Duke at this point in time.

“Yeah, I mean, look, we're in one-game seasons from here on out. The Stanford game is huge for us. Game like tonight, obviously, you don't want to lose by 30, but look, tonight's a tough task. The problems, having a seven-point lead at Miami or with Miami, having a seven-point lead two and a half minutes at Notre Dame. Those are the problems,” Wade explained.

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“These guys are in a little different weight class than we are right now. We know where we gotta get to. We can see that live and in person today. This is where we have to strive to kind of get up to that weight class. But the issue in the five out of six is that the games that were within our control, not necessarily tonight. But we had to put everything we got into Stanford on Saturday. It was the biggest game of the season.”

After losing five of their last six games to teams ranked and unranked alike, Wade is correct that NC State's season really is down to a one-game showdown, with a trip to California to face off against Stanford their last game on the regular season schedule. If the Wolfpack can secure the win and keep their postseason ambitions alive, who knows? Maybe it could play a role in getting NC State closer to Duke's weight class, allowing them to attract better players for Wade to coach up.