NC State men’s basketball allows 118 points in loss to No. 24 Louisville, most in 48 years

Brennan Weiss, Staff Writer • Feb 10, 2026

Freshman forward Musa Sagnia puts his hands on his head during the game in the Lenovo Center on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.

All good things must come to an end.

NC State men’s basketball (18-7, 9-3 ACC) found that out the hard way as its six-game road winning streak came to a screeching halt against No. 24 Louisville with a 118-77 loss (18-6, 8-4 ACC). The Cardinals controlled the game from the tip, outpacing, outrebounding and outshooting the Pack. It was future lottery-pick Mikel Brown Jr. who stole the show for Louisville, though. Brown Jr. shot 10-of-16 from 3-point range and finished with 45 points.

The Wolfpack lacked urgency, letting a good rebounding team look like a great one and failing to challenge the Cardinals’ shooters at their spots. The last time an NC State team gave up this many points was nearly 50 years ago.

Playing in front of a white-out crowd, Brown Jr. cut up NC State’s defense with shifty change-of-pace moves and textbook off-ball movement while taking shots further and further away from the arc. He set the single-game scoring mark for an ACC freshman, outshining the 42-point record that Duke’s Cooper Flagg set last year.

Heading into the matchup, the teams sat first and second in ACC 3-point makes, with Louisville barely leading NC State. A shootout seemed inevitable, but only Louisville brought the guns. The Cardinals shot 18-of-30 from three compared to NC State’s 4-of-22, and the Wolfpack’s typically-threatening 3-point shooting and ball movement was totally absent.

NC State didn’t look like the same team that entered the game shooting 40.2% from 3-point range, or the team that sat second in the conference with a 1.74 assist-to-turnover ratio. Its big names didn’t look their parts either.

Senior guard Quadir Copeland had 36 assists and five turnovers in the three games before this one. But against Louisville, he notched three assists and four turnovers. Senior forward Darrion Williams scored eight quick points in the first half, but shot 0-of-10 in the rest of the game. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr. was totally invisible, recording five shots for zero points.

Although the team still sits fourth in the ACC, the positive momentum it had built up has been wiped out. All attention turns to a pair of home games. Miami on Saturday, Feb. 14, and then rival UNC the following Tuesday night. Tipoff against Miami is set for 4 p.m.