NC State’s Quadir Copeland posts bonkers stat line not seen in college hoops in 7 years

After a slow start to its first season with Will Wade as head coach, NC State basketball is starting to find its stride as the calendar flips to February. On Tuesday night, the Wolfpack got another very impressive road win to add to their resume, beating SMU 84-83 in Dallas to improve to 17-6 on the season.

NC State trailed for much of the first half and into the second, but a 26-6 run during the second half catapulted Wade’s club into the lead. SMU nearly made a comeback, but Boopie Miller’s game-winning shot was blocked and the Wolfpack escaped with the win.

Point guard Quadir Copeland, who transferred to NC State from McNeese with Wade, was the catalyst for NC State’s second-half success in this game. Copeland didn’t make a big impact scoring, but he consistently set his teammates up for easy buckets and finished with 16 assists and no turnovers. He is the first college basketball player to have that many assists without giving the ball away since Grayson Murphy of Belmont back in 2019, per Noah Fleischman of On3 Sports.

Copeland also added seven points, taking only four shots, and secured 10 rebounds in the win. SMU has proven to be a quality team that is likely to be in the NCAA Tournament this season, but the Mustangs’ defense had no answer for Copeland in this one.

Even while NC State has been a bit uneven while meshing with a new-look roster in Wade’s first season, Copeland has still been one of the best guards in the country. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 14 points per game and entered the day with 6.5 assists per outing, good for second in the ACC.

Getting a Quad 1 road win like this will also certainly be a big boost for NC State’s March Madness resume. Wade’s squad was slotted as a projected No. 9 seed in ClutchPoints’ latest Bracketology, but the pack of middle seeds is very tight at the moment. Wins like this one can jump a team like NC State up a seed line, with more opportunities for quality wins over the rest of the month.

NC State is back in action on Saturday against another bubble team, Virginia Tech, at home in Raleigh.

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