# 1956 Dixie Classic

The 1956 Dixie Classic was a mid-season college basketball tournament held December 27–29, 1956 at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the eighth iteration of the Dixie Classic and it was part of the 1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball season.
Coming into the tournament, there was no clear favorite among the strong field, with reigning champion NC State holding the worst record of any team. Some noted teams were the 8th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 2nd-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, and the 13th-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The Mountaineers were considered a serious threat as an undefeated team with two victories over teams in the "Big Four" already; however, no team outside of the Big Four had ever won the Dixie Classic.
In the first round, the Big Four teams swept their invited opponents. West Virginia's undefeated streak fell apart, as they lost all three games to finish last in the tournament. Wake Forest and North Carolina advanced out of the semifinal, and North Carolina won the final by a score of 63–55 to continue their undefeated streak. This streak ultimately lasted through the end of their season, and the Tar Heels would go on to win the NCAA tournament.
Lennie Rosenbluth of North Carolina was voted as the most outstanding player of the tournament. Across North Carolina's three games, he scored 86 points and led the tournament in rebounds, field goals, and free throws. Across the three days of six double-headers, the total attendance was 71,200.

## 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 1956 teams were:
* Wake Forest Demon Deacons
* DePaul Blue Demons
* NC State Wolfpack
* Iowa Hawkeyes
* Duke Blue Devils
* West Virginia Mountaineers
* North Carolina Tar Heels
* Utah Redskins

## 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 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 74 | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | Dec. 28, 2:00pm | DePaul | DePaul | 68 | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | Dec. 28, 4:00pm | | | |
| | | | DePaul | DePaul | 73 | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | 73 | |
| | | | Iowa | Iowa | 72 | Dec. 27, 4:00pm | Dec. 27, 4:00pm | Dec. 27, 4:00pm | NC State | NC State | 66 | |
| | | | | | | NC State | 84 | | | | | | | |
| Dec. 29, 4:00pm | Dec. 29, 4:00pm | Dec. 29, 4:00pm | | | | Iowa | Iowa | | 70 | | | Dec. 29, 9:30pm | Dec. 29, 9:30pm | Dec. 29, 9:30pm |
| DePaul | DePaul | 79 | | | | | | | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | | 55 |
| Utah | Utah | 86 | | | | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | Dec. 27, 7:30pm | Wake Forest | | | North Carolina | 63 |
| | | | | | | Duke | Duke | 73 | | | | | | |
| | | | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | West Virginia | West Virginia | 67 | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | Dec. 28, 9:30pm | | | |
| Seventh place | Seventh place | Seventh place | West Virginia | West Virginia | 66 | | | | Duke | Duke | 71 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Utah | Utah | 83 | Dec. 27, 9:30pm | Dec. 27, 9:30pm | Dec. 27, 9:30pm | North Carolina | North Carolina | 81 | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm | Dec. 29, 7:30pm |
| Iowa | Iowa | 79 | | | | North Carolina | North Carolina | 97 | | | | NC State | NC State | 102 |
| West Virginia | West Virginia | 76 | | | | Utah | Utah | 76 | | | | Duke | Duke | 80 |

## Game log

* December 27 2:00pm
Wake Forest 74, DePaul 68 :
| Scoring by half: 38–34, 36–34 |||
| Pts: Murdock (19) | Pts: Heise (26) |
* No. 1 Attendance: 12,000
* December 27 4:00pm
NC State 84, Iowa 70 :
| Scoring by half: 32–29, 52–41 |||
| Pts: Maglio (21) | Pts: Martel (17) |
* No. 2 Attendance: 12,000
* December 27 7:30pm
Duke 73, West Virginia 67 :
| Scoring by half: 38–34, 35–33 |||
| Pts: Newcome (19) | Pts: Hundley (24) |
* No. 3 Attendance: 12,400
* December 27 9:30pm
North Carolina 97, Utah 76 :
| Scoring by half: 42–32, 55–44 |||
| Pts: Rosenbluth (26) | Pts: Kane (12) |
* No. 4 Attendance: 12,400
* December 28 2:00pm
DePaul 73, Iowa 72 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 38–32, 27–33 Overtime: 8–7 |||
| Pts: Heise (23) | Pts: Wordlaw (23) |
* No. 5 Attendance: 12,000
* December 28 4:00pm
Wake Forest 73, NC State 66 :
| Scoring by half: 31–33, 42–33 |||
| Pts: Carr (21) | Pts: Maglio (22) |
* No. 6 Attendance: 12,000
* December 28 7:30pm
West Virginia 66, Utah 83 :
| Scoring by half: 31–50, 35–33 |||
| Pts: Hundley (16) | Pts: Kane (22) |
* No. 7
* December 28 9:30pm
Duke 71, North Carolina 87 :
| Scoring by half: 32–43, 39–44 |||
| Pts: Newcome (19) | Pts: Rosenbluth (32) |
* No. 8
* December 29 2:00pm
Iowa 79, West Virginia 76 :
| Scoring by half: 36–37, 43–39 |||
| Pts: Wordlaw (21) | Pts: Sharrar (20) |
* No. 9
* December 29 4:00pm
DePaul 79, Utah 86 :
| Scoring by half: 33–41, 46–45 |||
| Pts: Heise (32) | Pts: Hale (19) |
* No. 10
* December 29 7:30pm
NC State 102, Duke 80 :
| Scoring by half: 47–39, 55–41 |||
| Pts: Richter (25) | Pts: Robertson (13) |
* No. 11 Attendance: 12,400
* December 29 9:30pm
Wake Forest 55, North Carolina 63 :
| Scoring by half: 20–31, 35–32 |||
| Pts: Williams (15) | Pts: Rosenbluth (18) |
* No. 12 Attendance: 12,400