NC State men’s hoops is adding a home-and-home with VCU to its non-conference schedule, per Jon Rothstein, and that’ll have the Rams coming to Raleigh this season.
Will Wade was the head coach at VCU in 2016 and 2017, and he also took his LSU team to Richmond back in 2019. (LSU lost that one by two points.)
The Rams are in transition after losing Ryan Odom to UVA but should still be a solid opponent—certainly better than any low-major that might otherwise fill this slot in the non-conference. VCU finished last season at No. 34 in the Pomeroy Ratings.
NC State is also set to host Kansas, play at an SEC team, and play in the Maui Invitational, which also includes Texas, USC, Boise State, Arizona State, Seton Hall, Washington State, and Chaminade. I’d expect Texas, USC, and Boise to be NCAA tournament-quality, so depending on how the Invitational unfolds, State’s non-conference could end up pretty strong.