# 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 during the 1973-74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolfpack played their home games at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, and competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. While losing only one game throughout the season, the team finished undefeated in the ACC conference play, and went on to win the 1974 ACC men's basketball title. The Wolfpack then won the NCAA tournament, finishing the season as the national champions.

## Season summary

NC State had several highly rated players, including star high-jumping forward David Thompson, 7-foot-4 center Tom Burleson, point guard Monte Towe, and several complementary players, including guard Moe Rivers and forward Phil Spence. The Wolfpack began the season ranked #2 in the nation, behind John Wooden's UCLA. On December 15, 1973, the two top-ranked 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 later met and defeated the Bruins 80–77 in two overtimes in the NCAA tournament semi-final game, ending UCLA's streak of seven straight national championships. Two nights later, NC State won its first NCAA championship by beating Marquette, 76–64.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 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* ABC | 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 | at Wake Forest | W 72–63 | 24–1 (12–0) | Winston-Salem War Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| ACC tournament ||||||
| March 8* | No. 1 | vs. Virginia ACC tournament | W 87–66 | 25–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 9* | No. 1 | vs. No. 4 Maryland ACC tournament | W 103–100 $^{OT}$ | 26–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 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 Championship | W 76–64 | 30–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| 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 | Not released | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released | 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. NC State defeated Maryland 103–100 in overtime to claim the championship.
The final featured 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 :
| 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

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Tommy Burleson | Seattle SuperSonics |