NC State Women’s Basketball Nonconference Schedule: Tough Enough to Silence the Soft-Schedule Crowd (Barely)

Soft? Hardly. NC State’s Nonconference Schedule Mixes Resume Builders with Realistic Wins

Wes Moore and the Wolfpack unveiled their 2026-27 nonconference slate on August 12, and the usual chorus of “it’s soft” immediately started warming up X. Look, if your idea of a legitimate early-season test is stacking eight Quad 1 games against top-10 teams before Thanksgiving, then sure, call this one soft. For everyone else living in reality, this is a balanced, resume-conscious schedule that mixes legitimate high-major challenges with the kind of winnable games that actually let a team build momentum instead of limping into ACC play already bruised.

The Full Nonconference Breakdown

Exhibitions

Oct. 8 vs. High Point (home) – 2025-26: 27-6, Big South regular-season and tournament champions, NCAA first-round appearance.
Oct. 24 vs. UNCW (home) – 2025-26: 7-24.

Regular season

Nov. 2 vs. Wofford (home) – 16-13, SoCon regular-season co-champions.
Nov. 4 vs. Campbell (home) – 20-12, second in the CAA.
Nov. 8 vs. Kentucky (Ally Tipoff, Spectrum Center, Charlotte) – 25-11, SEC, final AP No. 14, NCAA Sweet 16.
Nov. 11 vs. Liberty (home) – 18-13, CUSA Tournament semifinalist.
Nov. 15 at Seton Hall – 19-13, Big East, WBIT participant.
Nov. 19 vs. Georgetown (home) – 14-17, Big East.
Nov. 22 vs. Coastal Carolina (home) – 14-18, Sun Belt.
Nov. 27 vs. Kansas State (7 p.m., Fort Myers Tip-Off) – 19-18, Big 12, WBIT second round.
Nov. 28 vs. LSU (4:30 p.m., Fort Myers Tip-Off) – 29-6, SEC, final AP No. 8, NCAA Sweet 16.
Dec. 2 at Ole Miss – 24-12, SEC, final AP No. 21, NCAA second round.
Dec. 6 vs. Davidson (home) – 21-12, A-10 Tournament semifinalist.
Dec. 9 vs. Jacksonville (home) – 24-9, ASUN Tournament champions, NCAA first-round appearance.
Dec. 20 vs. Navy (home) – 22-9, Patriot League regular-season champions, WBIT participant.

That’s four NCAA Tournament teams from last season (including two Sweet 16 squads in Kentucky and LSU), plus three more that reached the WBIT. Eight of the 13 games are at Reynolds Coliseum, where the Pack has been nearly unbeatable for a decade.

Strength of Schedule Reality Check

Official numbers from the athletic department: the average final 2025-26 NET ranking of these nonconference opponents is 103.2. That ranked third-best among all Power Four programs last season. Using those same NET numbers and accounting for home/away/neutral sites, the slate projects to include three Quad 1 games and one Quad 2 game.

The tough cluster is obvious: Kentucky in Charlotte, then a Fort Myers doubleheader against Kansas State and LSU, followed four days later by a true road game at Ole Miss. Those are the resume-builders. Everything else is designed to be won, which is how functional programs actually operate. Stacking only elite opponents sounds great on message boards and X until your team is 4-5 in December and the NET is in the toilet.

A Little Snark for the Soft-Schedule Police

Yes, there are home games against Wofford, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, and company. Shocking. Most Power conference teams schedule some of those. The difference is NC State also put Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, and Kansas State on the calendar instead of padding with six more low-majors and calling it a day. If “soft” now means “not exclusively filled with Final Four contenders in November,” then congratulations, every nonconference schedule in America is soft.

This slate gives the Pack early tests against quality SEC and Big 12 competition while still offering a realistic path to a strong overall record and a healthier NET heading into league play. It’s not the hardest nonconference schedule in the country. It’s also not the soft one some people pretend it is. It’s pragmatic, competitive, and exactly the kind of schedule that has helped NC State stay relevant in March for years.