NC State looks forward to national stage vs. UConn
At some point in Wes Moore’s first couple years coaching NC State women’s basketball, someone asked him what it would take for the Wolfpack to schedule a game with UConn.
“At the time, I said you’re probably going to have to get me drunk,” Moore said.
For the third-consecutive year, following matchups in the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 and a road trip up to Connecticut, the Wolfpack will face off against the Huskies. UConn, ranked No. 2 nationally in the Associated Press poll, travels to Raleigh this weekend for a Nov. 12 showdown.
“Maybe somebody got me drunk, I don’t know,” Moore said.
Moore told that story in jest, but his reasoning behind this early season test for the program is quite clear. UConn is one of the most storied programs in women’s college basketball, boasting an NCAA record 11 national championship.
Over his 11 seasons with the program, Wes Moore help built NC State’s program into the same stratosphere as the Huskies, battling in a double-overtime bout that ended in a 91-87 loss. The Wolfpack won three of the past four ACC tournaments, establishing a consistent culture of winning at Reynolds Coliseum.
UConn is set to compete with NC State on ABC Sunday afternoon, a stage that Moore does not take for granted. In front of a sold out crowd, he knows that games like this one are a real reason why his players chose to run with the Pack, and recruits take notice of that too.
“They’re excited, they’re confident and they should be,” Moore said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
Not only is this matchup a great indicator of the Pack’s program prestige, playing on ABC for the second year in a row, it also shows how the popularity of collegiate women’s basketball continues to grow.
“It’s just an exciting time, obviously, for our sport,” Moore said.
NC State comes into this season with an extra chip on its shoulder. The AP Poll left the Pack out of its first top-25 this year, and junior guard Aziaha James said she can already already hear the doubters, which gives the team even more motivation.
“People are looking down at us already, so we don’t have nothing to lose right now,” James said.
Last year, NC State traveled up to Connecticut with an experienced, veteran team and lost 91-69. Five players from last year’s team, the Wolfpack’s starting lineup for the 2023-2024 season, are back from the previous squad. Senior guard Madison Hayes and James are the only players who experienced the program’s NCAA tournament loss in 2021.
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NC State studied film from both of its prior matchups with the Huskies this week, and Moore pointed out the elite talent level on its opponent’s roster. Guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers, joined by elite forward Aaliyah Edwards, present quite a few challenges to the Pack.
“You pick your poison,” Moore said “If you get up there and really get aggressive with [the guards], now you’re letting Aaliyah Edwards roll to the bucket.”
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, who is in season No. 39 with the Huskies, has built an absolute giant of a program in Storrs, and Moore acknowledged the magnitude of this matchup.
“We’re going to have our hands full,” he said. “It’s going to be a big challenge, but hey, you’re playing arguably the top team in the country. It’s also an opportunity. You’ve got a chance to do something special.”
The Wolfpack’s head coach wants NC State to have the ACC’s toughest non-conference schedule, and the players enjoy the chance to play games that others do not expect the Pack to win.
“We like being the underdog,” graduate forward Mimi Collins said.
