RALEIGH, N.C. — NC State tips off the 2026-27 men’s basketball season at home Monday night, Nov. 2, when the Wolfpack face Campbell at 7:30 p.m. in Raleigh.
It is the regular-season debut for coach Gainey, a Raleigh native who came home to take over the Wolfpack. NC State played three exhibition games this fall, including a close game against Mississippi State at the Greensboro Coliseum in which the Wolfpack trailed by six with under three minutes to play.
The Wolfpack went 20-14 last season and were 11-6 at home. They scored 83.2 points a game, with 33.1 of those coming in the paint, 15.6 off turnovers and 10.7 on fast breaks.
Campbell is also starting over. Jimmie Williams is in his first season with the Camels and his first as a Division I head coach after four seasons at Division II Anderson University in South Carolina, where he was the South Atlantic Conference coach of the year in 2025-26.
His roster is almost entirely new and short on Division I time. Lance Waddles, who played at Omaha, and Nordin Kapic, a transfer from South Carolina, are the only Camels with Division I experience. Williams brought two guards with him from Anderson, including senior point guard AJ Wright Jr., who averaged 5.3 assists a game last season.
The Camels finished 16-18 overall a year ago and won just three of 16 road games. They averaged 12.5 assists per game.
Campbell played South Carolina in its final exhibition last week. The Gamecocks are on NC State’s schedule as well, with a visit to Lenovo Center set for Dec. 1.
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