CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Starting its ACC Tournament journey with a season-defining win, No. 7 seed NC State men’s basketball put away No. 15 seed Pittsburgh 98-88.

The victory all but solidified NC State’s position in the NCAA Tournament field, accomplishing the goal that Wade set for the season. En route to the win, the Pack (20-12, 10-8 ACC) got it done in the only way it knows how: by raining threes. Shooting 13-for-23 from beyond-the-arc with four players shooting over 50% from 3-point range, the Pack buried the Panthers (13-20, 5-13 ACC) with triples.

Coming off a four-game stretch to end the season where it had shot just 33-for-116 from three (roughly 28%), the Pack’s shooters returned to form. The difference in the tournament opener was ball movement.

“It was [about] how we got those shots,” freshman guard Matt Able said. “Before, the ball wasn’t moving but today, boom, boom, boom, open threes and everyone’s eating. We had six people in double digits. That’s what happens when you move the ball and play unselfishly.”

One of those double-digit scorers was senior forward Darrion Williams, who had a poor finish to the regular season where he posted just four points in the loss to Stanford and shot 1-for-8 from the floor.

Versus the Panthers, Williams’s game looked rough to start as he missed his first two attempts, which were both difficult looks. But the Texas Tech transfer settled down and focused on his role from the perimeter, effectively moving the ball and knocking down open shots, going 4-for-5 from deep for 12 points.

Further opening things up on the perimeter was senior guard Quadir Copeland, who was a force to be reckoned with down the lane. Scoring 14 points from the floor and forcing the Panthers to foul him nine times — he sank 10-for-14 at the stripe — Copeland dropped 24 and was a facilitator with eight assists.

Pitt gave its rebuttal from beyond the arc, sinking 12 triples and keeping pace for a while with the Wolfpack, going into the locker room down a point 51-50. Defensive concerns have persisted throughout the season for NC State, and the Pack certainly did not silence them. Eighty-eight points is the second most Pitt has scored against a Power Four opponent, and the Pack did not have a defensive answer. Luckily, its own offensive reply was resounding.

In many tournament projections, the Pack was squarely on the bubble coming into the game, with a possibility of missing the tournament or playing in a First Four play-in game. But with the win, an at-large bid is much more likely.

“There probably would be no next week if we lost today,” Wade said. “This was important or we would’ve been in real trouble.”

Copeland and the rest of the senior core including Williams, forward Ven-Allen Lubin and guard Tre Holloman took that to heart as they all played a big part in the win, combining for 68 points.

“This is our last shot, let’s make something happen,” Copeland said. “We ain’t gonna get none of these moments back, and we’re gonna look at this five, six years down the line … so our back’s against the wall now.”

The Pack will be back in the Spectrum Center to face No. 2 seed Virginia in the quarterfinals Thursday, March 12 at noon.