A familiar program is set to make an appearance at Lenovo Center this season.
N.C. State is finalizing a deal to play a home-and-home series with VCU, starting during the 2025-26 season, according to a report from CBS basketball insider Jon Rothstein. This would be the first meeting between the two teams.
Will Wade, hired as the Wolfpack’s coach in March, previously coached at VCU from 2015-17.
Wade guided the Rams to a 51-20 overall record and 28-8 record in Atlantic-10 play. VCU also made the NCAA Tournament both seasons under Wade’s leadership. Additionally, N.C. State assistant Brandon Chambers graduated from VCU. He briefly served as McNeese State’s acting head coach in 2023 and coached the Cowboys to a 76-65 win over the Rams.
VCU has made four NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT berths since Wade’s deparure. Ryan Odom, now the head coach at Virginia, led the Rams to a first-place conference finish in 2024-25 before ending its season in the NCAA Tournament’s first round against BYU.
This is the latest piece of N.C. State’s nonconference schedule puzzle.
The Wolfpack is scheduled to host Kansas on Dec. 13 for the second half of its home-and-home series. It played in Lawrence, Kansas, during the 2024-25 season. N.C. State is participating in the Maui Invitational in November. The annual Thanksgiving week tournament’s field this year also includes Arizona State, Boise State, Chaminade University, Seton Hall, Southern Cal and Washington State.
The report about the VCU game comes one day after the ACC announced its return to an 18-game conference schedule. N.C. State will play 16 of the 17 ACC opponents. The Wolfpack will play Wake Forest and a variable opponent in an annual home-and-home series but will not play a home-and-home with UNC for the first time since 1919.
Previously, Wade said from the beginning he was not afraid to schedule tough, non-conference opponents.
“We’re going to challenge ourselves in the ACC, we’re going to challenge ourselves in the non-conference,” Wade said. “We want to compete against the best. You can’t be the best playing a bunch of bad teams. You get better by playing the best teams in the country.
“I like to compete against the best. I don’t care who’s coaching the other team. We want to compete. We want to play the best. … We’ll go schedule some Hall of Fame coaches if we need to.”
Wade and his staff have made progress on its upcoming roster after bringing in one top recruit and a handful of transfers, including former Florida State forward Jerry Deng and former Houston guard Terrance Arceneaux. He has five scholarship positions left to fill, with N.C. State being in the mix for a handful of other top portal players.
The Wolfpack expects its home opener to take place on Nov. 3.
