# 1954 Dixie Classic

The 1954 Dixie Classic was a mid-season college basketball tournament held December 27–29, 1954 at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the sixth iteration of the Dixie Classic and it was part of the 1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season.
Coming into the tournament, undefeated NC State and reigning champion Duke were considered favorites. The NC State Wolfpack won the final, defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers 85–84.
Ronnie Shavlik of NC State was named most valuable player. Across the three days of six double-headers, the total attendance was 65,000.

## Teams

Each year, the Dixie Classic included the "Big Four" teams (Duke, NC State, North Carolina, and Wake Forest), as well as four other invited teams. The 1954 teams were:
* Southern California Trojans
* North Carolina Tar Heels
* Cornell Big Red
* NC State Wolfpack
* Minnesota Golden Gophers
* Wake Forest Demon Deacons
* West Virginia Mountaineers
* Duke Blue Devils

## Bracket

| Consolation final | Consolation final | Consolation final | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Dec. 27, 2:00pm | Dec. 27, 2:00pm | Dec. 27, 2:00pm | | | | |
| | | | | | | Southern California | Southern California | 58 | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | North Carolina | North Carolina | 67 | Dec. 28, 3:30pm | Dec. 28, 3:30pm | Dec. 28, 3:30pm | | | |
| | | | Southern California | Southern California | 77 | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 44 | |
| | | | Cornell | Cornell | 58 | Dec. 27, 3:30pm | Dec. 27, 3:30pm | Dec. 27, 3:30pm | NC State | NC State | 47 | |
| | | | | | | Cornell | 61 | | | | | | | |
| Dec. 29, 3:30pm | Dec. 29, 3:30pm | Dec. 29, 3:30pm | | | | NC State | NC State | | 95 | | | Dec. 29, 9:00pm | Dec. 29, 9:00pm | Dec. 29, 9:00pm |
| Southern California | Southern California | 85 | | | | | | | NC State | NC State | | 85 |
| Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 93 | | | | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | NC State | | | Minnesota | 84 |
| | | | | | | Minnesota | Minnesota | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 73 | Dec. 28, 9:00pm | Dec. 28, 9:00pm | Dec. 28, 9:00pm | | | |
| Seventh place | Seventh place | Seventh place | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 96 | | | | Minnesota | Minnesota | 79 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | West Virginia | West Virginia | 94 | Dec. 27, 9:00pm | Dec. 27, 9:00pm | Dec. 27, 9:00pm | Duke | Duke | 73 | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm |
| Cornell | Cornell | 71 | | | | West Virginia | West Virginia | 79 | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 65 |
| West Virginia | West Virginia | 79 | | | | Duke | Duke | 92 | | | | Duke | Duke | 52 |

## Game log

* December 27 2:00pm
Southern California 58, North Carolina 67 :
| Scoring by half: 22–31, 36–36 |||
| Pts: Welsh (15) | Pts: Rosenbluth (30) |
* No. 1 Attendance: 11,500
* December 27 3:30pm
Cornell 61, NC State 95 :
| Scoring by half: 32–44, 29–51 |||
| Pts: Dwyer (25) | Pts: Sheehy (28) |
* No. 2 Attendance: 11,500
* December 27 7:30pm
Minnesota 81, Wake Forest 73 :
| Scoring by half: 43–35, 38–38 |||
| Pts: Garmaker (30) | Pts: Hemric (21) |
* No. 3 Attendance: 12,000
* December 27 9:00pm
West Virginia 79, Duke 92 :
| Scoring by half: 31–49, 48–43 |||
| Pts: Witting (24) | Pts: Mayer (25) |
* No. 4 Attendance: 12,000
* December 28 2:00pm
Southern California 77, Cornell 58 :
| Scoring by half: 40–30, 37–28 |||
| Pts: Nagai (18) | Pts: Sheehy (26) |
* No. 5 Attendance: 11,000
* December 28 3:30pm
North Carolina 44, NC State 47 :
| Scoring by half: 18–20, 26–27 |||
| Pts: Rosenbluth (13) | Pts: Shavlik (10) |
* No. 6 Attendance: 11,000
* December 28 7:30pm
Wake Forest 96, West Virginia 94 :
| Scoring by half: 57–40, 39–54 |||
| Pts: Hemric (35) | Pts: Hundley (47) |
* No. 7 Attendance: 10,500
* December 28 9:00pm
Minnesota 79, Duke 73 :
| Scoring by half: 40–38, 39–35 |||
| Pts: Mencel (24) | Pts: Kalbfus (21) |
* No. 8 Attendance: 10,500
* December 29 2:00pm
Cornell 71, West Virginia 79 :
| Scoring by half: 39–39, 32–40 |||
| Pts: Sheehy (23) | Pts: Hundley (24) |
* No. 9 Attendance: 8,500
* December 29 3:30pm
Southern California 85, Wake Forest 93 :
| Scoring by half: 46–43, 39–50 |||
| Pts: Psaltis (22) | Pts: Hemric (30) |
* No. 10 Attendance: 8,500
* December 29 7:30pm
North Carolina 65, Duke 52 :
| Scoring by half: 20–24, 45–28 |||
| Pts: Rosenbluth (29) | Pts: Mayer (29) |
* No. 11 Attendance: 12,400
* December 29 9:00pm
NC State 85, Minnesota 84 :
| Scoring by half: 45–53, 40–31 |||
| Pts: Shavlik (32) | Pts: Garmaker, Simonovich (24) |
* No. 12 Attendance: 12,400