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NC State sets non-conference showdown with USC in Charlotte’s Ally Tipoff

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•about 21 hours•

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Nov 10, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore during the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Ally Tip Off at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore during the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Ally Tip Off at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

NC State coach Wes Moore likes to challenge his team in the non-conference. He built a tough early-season slate this past season, which featured three eventual top-10 teams, and it paid off with a strong finish to the regular season en route to yet another Sweet 16 appearance. 

Now, he’s done it again. 

NC State will play against USC in the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Nov. 9, the program announced Thursday morning. It marks the second straight season the Wolfpack will participate in the event after it fell to No. 1 South Carolina 71-67 in last year’s iteration. 

The Trojans, which made it to the Elite Eight a year ago, will match up with the Wolfpack for the third time in program history. NC State took the first meeting, a 59-53 win in Los Angeles in 2009, but dropped the return game in an 84-75 loss in 2010. 

While USC is a big-time opponent for NC State to pair itself with in the upcoming season, the Trojans aren’t the only premier program the Wolfpack will see in the first months of the year. 

NC State will open the 2025-26 campaign with the Tennessee Lady Vols at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro on Nov. 4. 

“We are excited to partner with Gazelle Group to bring another marquee college basketball game to First Horizon Coliseum,” First Horizon Coliseum General Manager Scott Johnson said in the announcement last year. “As the host of 24 ACC women’s basketball tournaments and six NCAA women’s basketball regionals, Greensboro has a long history of supporting women’s college basketball and we look forward to having a packed house next season for this terrific ACC-SEC clash.”

The Wolfpack will also host TCU, which also went to the Elite Eight last season, in a return game of a home-and-home in the upcoming year. The Horned Frogs were able to down the Pack last November in a 76-73 result. 

As NC State prepares for the 2025-26 season, the Wolfpack will have another early-season gauntlet with a team led by star guards Zoe Brooks and Zamareya Jones. It proved to be beneficial last year with 17 wins in its final 20 games en route to another deep NCAA Tournament run. Now, the Moore will look to get the same result with an opportunity to earn multiple marquee wins early in the season.

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