The Liberty Flames (6-2) will play their first true road game of the season against NC State (6-3) on Wednesday night. Coming off a 92-50 win over Coppin State on Saturday, the Flames will see its competition increase significantly when it visits the Wolfpack.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
How to Watch
7:00 p.m. ET | Wednesday, December 10
Raleigh, NC | Lenovo Center
TV: ACC Network
Liberty vs NC State Odds (KenPom)
Spread: Liberty +10
Projected score: NC State 84, Liberty 74
Liberty Projected Starters
#0 Colin Porter
Senior Guard | 5’10”, 170
2025-26 stats: 11.3 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.7 rpg
#3 Kaden Metheny
R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
2025-26 stats: 14.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.1 apg
#4 Brett Decker
Sophomore Guard | 6’3″, 190
2025-26 stats: 19.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 58.7% 3-point field goals
#9 JJ Harper
R-Senior Guard | 6’5″, 200
2025-26 stats: 11.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 apg
#25 Zach Cleveland
Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
2025-26 stats: 10.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 8.4 apg
Liberty vs NC State History
Liberty is 0-2 all-time against North Carolina State. The teams have not met in over 20 years, last playing during the 2004-05 season, a 94-60, Wolfpack win. During the 1999-2000 season, the two teams first met, with NC State winning, 85-50.
Liberty vs NC State State Storylines
WILL WADE AND RITCHIE MCKAY MEET AGAIN
Will Wade and Ritchie McKay have built somewhat of an unusual rivalry in recent years. While Liberty’s head coach has resided in Lynchburg for the last 11 seasons, Wade has jumped around some. He began his head coaching career at UT Chattanooga before moving on to VCU, LSU, McNeese, and now NC State. Despite that movement, Wade has found a way to play McKay and the Flames at each of his last four stops, posting a 4-1 record against Liberty. The rivalry began when Wade was at VCU, as the Rams and Flames played a home and home series during McKay’s first two years back at LU, both resulting in VCU wins (85-57 on 12/27/15 and 64-59 on 11/15/16). When Wade went to LSU, he scheduled the Flames, picking up a win on Dec. 29, 2019, 74-57, ending Liberty’s 14-0 unbeaten start to that season. November 15, 2021, Wade and LSU defeated Liberty, 74-58. Last year, McKay finally got a win over Wade as the Flames defeated his McNeese team, 62-58, in the Paradise Jam Championship Game. Wade and McNeese would go on to a 28-7 season, winning the Southland with a 19-1 conference record and then upsetting Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Now in Raleigh, Wade and the Wolfpack quickly agreed to play Liberty for a single game this season. It’s certainly notable that Wade has been open to scheduling Liberty as very few high major programs have been willing to do so since McKay got the Flames turned around. In recent seasons, it’s only been Wade and Nate Oats at Alabama as high majors who have been willing to schedule the Flames.
UNUSUAL QUAD 1 TEST FOR FLAMES
It’s not usual for Liberty to have Quad 1 opportunities. Those games against top 50-75 teams nationally have been hard to come by in recent seasons. Unfortunately, the two losses in the ESPN Events Invitational during Feast Week have hurt Liberty’s resume early in the season, but still this is a huge and unusual opportunity for the Flames in the non-conference slate. Liberty’s last game against a P4 opponent during the regular season was last year in the Paradise Jam, a 67-65 win over Kansas State. That’s the only prior regular season game against a high major for the Flames in the prior two+ seasons.
This will be Liberty’s first regular season game against an ACC opponent since Nov. 14, 2017, a 79-66 Liberty win at Wake Forest under head coach Ritchie McKay. The last meeting against an ACC foe came in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a 67-58 decision in favor of Virginia Tech.
Liberty has two wins over ACC opponents in McKay’s time at Liberty. Other than the Wake Forest victory, the Flames defeated Virginia in McKay’s first tenure with Liberty, an 86-82 road win on Nov. 25, 2008. Liberty has three wins all-time against ACC foes, one against Wake Forest and two against Virginia. The Flames are 3-22 all-time against ACC squads but 2-3 under McKay.
WOLFPACK STRUGGLING RECENTLY BUT HAVE BIG EXPECTATIONS
NC State made it to the Final Four in 2024 under previous head coach Kevin Keatts (a Lynchburg native), but after a disappointing 12-19 season last year, Keatts was shown the door and Will Wade was brought in. Expectations immediately soared for the Wolfpack.
They were picked fourth in the ACC’s preseason media poll, its highest preseason ranking since the 2013-14 season. Wade brought in several transfers expected to make a big impact, highlighted by the ACC Preseason Player of the Year Darrion Williams. He was a first-team all-Big 12 pick last season at Texas Tech, averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He entered this season with 1,140 career points after averaging 21.0 points in four NCAA Tournament games for the Red Raiders last year. He paced the team with 23 points in the Elite Eight loss to eventual national champion Florida as well as a season-high 28 points in the second round win over Drake. Williams currently leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game.
Wade brought Quadir Copeland with him from McNeese. Copeland began his career at Syracuse and currently ranks second on the team, averaging 14.4 points per game this season. UNC transfer Ven-Allen Lubin is averaging 13.3 points per game while Paul McNeil, Jr. is averaging 12.2 points per game in his second year with the Wolfpack. Michigan State transfer Tre Holloman is averaging 11.3 points per game.
NC State started the season 4-0 including a win over VCU at home, 85-79, on Nov. 17. Their trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational produced disappointing results, as they dropped two of three games, falling to Set on Hall and Texas with a win over Boise State sandwiched in between. Since returning to the continental United States, NC State picked up a win over UNC Asheville on Saturday, 75-63, before they begin preparing to host the Flames. Following their game against Liberty, the Wolfpack host Kansas on Saturday.
“They are really good,” McKay said of Wade and the Wolfpack. “What I love about Will is, first of all, he’s a very underrated coach. I think he does a little bit of the distraction so people don’t analyze how good he and their staff are. They are terrifically well-coached. They are super talented. We like playing these games because it’s a great way to measure your team and find out what you’re not, but it will be a really stiff challenge. We won’t sneak up on them. He was at McNeese, we played them last year. They will know our personnel well. They are loaded. Just for the fact that he was willing to play us, I’m grateful. I think it will be a great experience for our group.”
