1973–74 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team
The 1973–74 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack were a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team finished undefeated in the ACC regular season, then won the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack then won the NCAA tournament, finishing the season as the national champions.
1973–74 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball | |
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ACC Tournament champions ACC regular season champions | |
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, Champions | |
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 1 |
AP | No. 1 |
1973–74 record | 30–1 (12–0 ACC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Captain | Game captains |
Home arena | Reynolds Coliseum |
1973–74 ACC men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 NC State † | 12 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 30 | – | 1 | .968 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 4 Maryland | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | 23 | – | 5 | .821 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 12 North Carolina | 9 | – | 3 | .750 | 22 | – | 6 | .786 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia | 4 | – | 8 | .333 | 11 | – | 16 | .407 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clemson | 3 | – | 9 | .250 | 14 | – | 12 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wake Forest | 3 | – | 9 | .250 | 13 | – | 13 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Duke | 2 | – | 10 | .167 | 10 | – | 16 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 1974 ACC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
Season summary
N.C. State had it all: a star high-jumping forward David Thompson, a towering center in 7-foot-4 Tom Burleson, a great point guard in Monte Towe and several excellent complementary players, including guard Moe Rivers and forward Phil Spence. The Wolfpack began the season ranked #2 in the nation, behind UCLA. On December 15, 1973, the two teams met in St. Louis, with UCLA beating NC State by 84–66 after trailing by one at halftime. It would be the only loss for the Wolfpack that season. NC State avenged that loss by beating the Bruins 80–77 in two overtimes in the NCAA Tournament semi-final game and ending their streak of seven straight national championships. Two nights later NC State captured its first NCAA championship by beating Marquette 76–64.
Roster
1973–74 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
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December 5* |
No. 2 | East Carolina | W 79–47 | 1–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
December 7* |
No. 2 | Vermont | W 97–42 | 2–0 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
December 15* |
No. 2 | vs. No. 1 UCLA | L 66–84 | 2–1 |
St. Louis Arena St. Louis, MO | ||||||
December 18* |
No. 5 | Georgia | W 94–60 | 3–1 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
December 28* |
No. 5 | vs. Villanova Sugar Bowl Tournament |
W 97–82 | 4–1 |
'Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, LA | ||||||
December 29* |
No. 5 | vs. No. 18 Memphis State Sugar Bowl Tournament |
W 98–83 | 5–1 |
Municipal Auditorium New Orleans, LA | ||||||
January 4* |
No. 5 | No. 4 North Carolina Big Four Tournament |
W 78–77 | 6–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
January 5* |
No. 5 | vs. Wake Forest Big Four Tournament |
W 91–73 | 7–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
January 12 |
No. 4 | Clemson | W 96–68 | 8–1 (1–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
January 13 |
No. 4 | No. 3 Maryland | W 80–74 | 9–1 (2–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
January 17 |
No. 3 | at Virginia | W 90–70 | 10–1 (3–0) |
University Hall Charlottesville, VA | ||||||
January 19* |
No. 3 | UNC-Charlotte | W 104–72 | 11–1 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
January 22 |
No. 3 | at No. 4 North Carolina | W 83–80 | 12–1 (4–0) |
Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
January 26* |
No. 3 | at Purdue | W 86–81 | 13–1 |
Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN | ||||||
January 30 |
No. 2 | at No. 6 Maryland | W 86–80 | 14–1 (5–0) |
Cole Field House College Park, MD | ||||||
February 2 |
No. 2 | Virginia | W 105–93 | 15–1 (6–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
February 4 |
No. 2 | at Duke | W 92–78 | 16–1 (7–0) |
Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC | ||||||
February 8* |
No. 2 | vs. Georgia Tech North-South Doubleheader |
W 98–54 | 17–1 |
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC | ||||||
February 9* |
No. 2 | vs. Furman North-South Doubleheader |
W 111–91 | 18–1 |
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC | ||||||
February 13* |
No. 2 | Davidson | W 105–78 | 19–1 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
February 16 |
No. 2 | Wake Forest | W 111–96 | 20–1 (8–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
February 20 |
No. 1 | Duke | W 113–87 | 21–1 (9–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
February 23 |
No. 1 | at Clemson | W 80–75 | 22–1 (10–0) |
Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC | ||||||
February 26 |
No. 1 | No. 4 North Carolina | W 83–72 | 23–1 (11–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
March 2 |
No. 1 | Wake Forest | W 72–63 | 24–1 (12–0) |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
March 8* |
No. 1 | vs. Virginia ACC Tournament |
W 87–66 | 25–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
March 9* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Maryland ACC Tournament |
W 103–100 OT | 26–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
March 14* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Providence NCAA Tournament • Regional Semifinals |
W 92–78 | 27–1 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
March 16* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh NCAA Tournament • Regional Final |
W 100–72 | 28–1 |
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC | ||||||
March 23* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 2 UCLA NCAA Tournament • National Semifinals |
W 80–77 2OT | 29–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
March 25* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 3 Marquette NCAA Tournament • National Final |
W 76–64 | 30–1 |
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC | ||||||
Rankings
Week | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final | |||||||||||||||||||
AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
Coaches | Not released | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |
ACC Tournament
The 1974 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 7 to 9. North Carolina State defeated Maryland 103–100 in overtime to claim the championship.
The Final pitted two of the top teams in the country. It has been regarded by many to be the greatest ACC game in history — and one of the greatest college games ever. The game was instrumental in forcing the expansion of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship to 32 teams, allowing more than one bid from a conference.
NCAA tournament
1974 NCAA Tournament Championship Game Box Score | |||||||
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Player | Min | FG | FT | REB | AST | PF | PTS |
D. Thompson | 40 | 7–12 | 7–8 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
M. Towe | 37 | 5–10 | 6–7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
T. Burleson | 36 | 6–9 | 2–6 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
M. Rivers | 40 | 4–9 | 6–9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 |
T. Stoddard | 25 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
P. Spence | 19 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
M. Moeller | 3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 26–46 | 24–34 | 34 | 14 | 17 | 76 |
- East
- North Carolina State 92, Providence 78
- North Carolina State 100, Pittsburgh 72
- Final Four
- North Carolina State 80, UCLA 77
- North Carolina State 76, Marquette 64
Awards and honors
- Tommy Burleson, ACC Tournament MVP.
- David Thompson, NCAA Men's MOP Award[4]
References
- "1974 NCAA Final Four program". March 1974. Cite magazine requires
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(help) - NC State All-Time Results. Retrieved 2015-Jun-29.
- http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1974
- "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2013-10-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)