The No. 6 NC State wrestling team (12-1) is back in action on Friday when the Pack travels to Pennsylvania to face the unranked Pittsburgh Panthers in a late-season conference matchup.

The Wolfpack is coming off a dominant home performance against Virginia in which the Pack won 32-7 on Alumni Night in Reynolds Coliseum. Redshirt freshman Tariq Wilson had the best performance of the night as he knocked off returning No. 5 Jack Mueller, a returning All-American (9-4). After an even first round, Wilson had a takedown in both the second and third rounds to solidify his win over Mueller and record his first win over a top-10 opponent this season.  

The Panthers (2-8 overall and 0-2 in the ACC) are having a much different season than the Wolfpack. The only bright spot of the season came in early January when they shocked No. 18 Oklahoma with a 19-18 nonconference thriller. But their next two matches were not as successful, with consecutive losses to No. 10 Virginia Tech and No. 25 UNC-Chapel Hill.

The Panthers have talent, but haven’t been able to out it together.  After a close loss to the Tar Heels, head coach Keith Gavin commented on the Panther’s inability to finish.

“We lost three overtime matches tonight and that’s frustrating,” Gavin said to pittsburghpanthers.com. “We have to start winning those close ones. We did some good work but were inconsistent and didn’t close matches out.”

In order to hang with the Wolfpack, Pittsburgh needs to capitalize on positive momentum. If the Panthers do not, the Pack is more than capable of running away with it.

The path after Pittsburgh is not easy for NC State. They Pack ends its season by hosting three ranked teams in the span of 10 days. No. 25 UNC, No. 9 Virginia Tech and national powerhouse No. 2 Ohio State will travel to Raleigh to finish off the regular season. 

These last four matches for the Wolfpack will be a late indicator for how the team will perform in the postseason as the ACC Tournament looms on March 3.