# 1953 Dixie Classic

The 1953 Dixie Classic was a mid-season college basketball tournament held December 28–30, 1953 at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the fifth iteration of the Dixie Classic and it was part of the 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season. The Duke Blue Devils won the final, defeating the Navy Midshipmen 98–83.
Coming into the tournament, 9th-ranked host NC State, who had won the first four Dixie Classics, and 12th-ranked Oregon State were favorites to win the tournament. However, the final was contested by Duke and Navy. Duke won 98–83, breaking Navy's six-game unbeaten streak.

## 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 1953 teams were:
* Navy Midshipmen
* North Carolina Tar Heels
* Seton Hall Pirates
* NC State Wolfpack
* Oregon State Beavers
* Duke Blue Devils
* Tulane Green Wave
* Wake Forest Demon Deacons

## Bracket

| Consolation final | Consolation final | Consolation final | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Consolation semifinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | | | | |
| | | | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 62 | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Navy | Navy | 86 | Dec. 29, 4:00pm | Dec. 29, 4:00pm | Dec. 29, 4:00pm | | | |
| | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 63 | | | | Navy | Navy | 85 | |
| | | | Seton Hall | Seton Hall | 73 | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | NC State | NC State | 75 | |
| | | | | | | NC State | 72 | | | | | | | |
| Dec. 30, 4:00pm | Dec. 30, 4:00pm | Dec. 30, 4:00pm | | | | Seton Hall | Seton Hall | | 70 | | | Dec. 30, 9:00pm | Dec. 30, 9:00pm | Dec. 30, 9:00pm |
| Seton Hall | Seton Hall | 77 | | | | | | | Navy | Navy | | 83 |
| Tulane | Tulane | 68 | | | | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Navy | | | Duke | 98 |
| | | | | | | Duke | Duke | 71 | | | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Oregon State | Oregon State | 61 | Dec. 29, 9:30pm | Dec. 29, 9:30pm | Dec. 29, 9:30pm | | | |
| Seventh place | Seventh place | Seventh place | Oregon State | Oregon State | 70 | | | | Duke | Duke | 83 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| Dec. 30, 2:00pm | Dec. 30, 2:00pm | Dec. 30, 2:00pm | Tulane | Tulane | 74 | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 66 | Dec. 30, 7:30pm | Dec. 30, 7:30pm | Dec. 30, 7:30pm |
| North Carolina | North Carolina | 53 | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 72 | | | | NC State | NC State | 79 |
| Oregon State | Oregon State | 65 | | | | Tulane | Tulane | 65 | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 86 |

## Game log

* December 28 2:00pm
North Carolina 62, Navy 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–27, 17–21, 14–14, 15–24 |||
| Pts: Radovich (15) | Pts: Lange (29) |
* No. 1 Attendance: 11,600
* December 28 4:00pm
NC State 72, Seton Hall 70 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–19, 14–18, 21–21, 20–12 |||
| Pts: Molodet (19) | Pts: Brooks (19) |
* No. 2 Attendance: 11,600
* December 28 7:30pm
Duke 71, Oregon State 61 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 15–11, 18–14, 18–19 |||
| Pts: D'Emilio, Belmont (19) | Pts: Halbrook (23) |
* No. 3 Attendance: 12,000
* December 28 9:30pm
Wake Forest 72, Tulane 65 :
| Scoring by quarter: 14–13, 16–20, 21–16, 21–16 |||
| Pts: Davis (25) | Pts: P. Wallace (18) |
* No. 4 Attendance: 12,000
* December 29 2:00pm
North Carolina 63, Seton Hall 73 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 11–16, 19–19, 16–22 |||
| Pts: Likins (16) | Pts: Ring (18) |
* No. 5 Attendance: 9,500
* December 29 4:00pm
Navy 85, NC State 75 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 16–20, 24–16, 29–20 |||
| Pts: Clune (27) | Pts: Thompson (23) |
* No. 6 Attendance: 9,500
* December 29 7:30pm
Oregon State 70, Tulane 74 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 23–19, 6–19, 20–20 |||
| Pts: Halbrook (23) | Pts: Cervini (18) |
* No. 7
* December 29 9:30pm
Duke 83, Wake Forest 66 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–10, 13–22, 22–21, 18–13 |||
| Pts: D'Emilio (23) | Pts: Hemric (26) |
* No. 8
* December 30 2:00pm
North Carolina 53, Oregon State 65 :
| Scoring by quarter: 11–22, 6–18, 18–9, 18–16 |||
| Pts: Maddie (17) | Pts: Halbrook (16) |
* No. 9
* December 30 4:00pm
Seton Hall 77, Tulane 68 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 16–19, 18–15, 21–13 |||
| Pts: Long (21) | Pts: Brennan, Stoll (13) |
* No. 10
* December 30 7:30pm
NC State 79, Wake Forest 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 13–21, 14–21, 31–20 |||
| Pts: Thompson (24) | Pts: Hemric (24) |
* No. 11 Attendance: 12,000
* December 30 9:00pm
Navy 83, Duke 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 20–21, 19–20, 22–32 |||
| Pts: Lange (25) | Pts: D'Emilio (24) |
* No. 12 Attendance: 12,000