DAYTON, O.H. — It’s hard to call a game that saw 36 fouls and a crawl to the finish a “classic”. But the first Power Four matchup in Dayton delivered — just not the result that NC State men’s basketball had hoped for.
Unable to find its bread and butter and get going from 3-point range, the Pack (20-14) had to scrape and claw to stay in the game with Texas (19-14). And then the clock struck 1:30. With 90 seconds left, the Pack finally found its stroke and sunk three-straight triples. NC State tied the game, but the Longhorns marched down the court with a chance to put the Wolfpack down. Texas guard Tramon Mark sunk a mid-range dagger with just a second left, thwarting NC State’s comeback and ending its season, 68-66.
TRAMON MARK!! #11 TEXAS THEY’RE GONNA WIN AT THE LAST SECOND
pic.twitter.com/qF4PtbB3tm— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 18, 2026
“We didn’t have the year that we wanted,” head coach Will Wade said. “We’ve got a lot of things that we need to make sure that we’re in better shape moving forward, so we’ll go work on that as soon as the wheels hit the ground tomorrow.”
A near buzzer-beater is a brutal way to end a game, let alone a season. But the Pack had already lost in the margins which have plagued its efforts all season.
Getting outrebounded 45-33, NC State struggled on the boards versus Texas’ 7-footer Matas Vokietaitis and star guard Dailyn Swain, with each grabbing eight rebounds. But 6-foot-3 guard Chendall Weaver did the most heavy lifting for Texas, grabbing 10 boards and out-hustling everyone else on the court — a type of athletic player that has been missing for NC State.
Defense was the other struggle for the Pack, although it fared better than the first matchup between the two teams in November at the Maui Invitational, where it gave up 102 points. Still, the defensive effort was harmed by an inability to guard without fouling. The Pack had a total of 22 fouls. Though not all of the calls were warranted, it seemed like almost every trip down the court resulted in a whistle during the second half.
That led to NC State’s only viable offensive big, senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin, getting into foul trouble. With the Pack’s season on the line, one of its best players was on the bench with a game-ending five fouls.
“It’s just hard to get my body going, keeping up with the pace of the game being in foul trouble,” Lubin said. “That was just my biggest thing coming in, ’cause I knew they’re gonna be very physical, and I knew I wanted to match it, but be smart about it … good calls, bad calls, calls were made. It’s really hard to be in that position.”
Lubin finished with six points, unable to get into a rhythm. Scoring some of the last points of his collegiate career, Lubin sank two free throws late in the first half — his 18th in a row stretching back to the start of the postseason.
With the season over, there are no moral victories. Back to the drawing board for Wade, general manager Andrew Slater and the rest of the men’s basketball staff.
