This has been a season of hope for NC State. Will Wade’s team hasn’t been perfect, but it has certainly had its moments, notably an absolute destruction of UNC (albeit without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, but still, good for the Wolfpack soul).
State has wandered in the desert often since the departure of Jim Valvano in 1990. It’s not quite the biblical 40 years, but it’s getting close to it.
There was a time, though, when State was one of the most feared programs in the land. In the early 1970s,
Duke was not really a factor. UNC was not what State was. Only Maryland was close, and as much as Lefty Driesell tried, he couldn’t overcome the Wuffies.
The peak of this rivalry was in the 1974 ACC Tournament, where NC State came in #1 in the nation, with the Terrapins close behind at #4.
Both teams were loaded. Maryland had Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Mo Howard, Owen Brown (who would soon die tragically of a heart attack) , Tom Roy and Billy Hahn, who would later become a prominent Maryland assistant under Gary Williams.
NC State boasted the remarkable Monte Towe, a 5-5 point guard, Mo Rivers, Tim Stoddard, Phil Spence, Mark Moeller, Tom Burleson, and the transcendent talent of David Thompson.
NC State and Maryland put on one of the greatest games of all time. Thompson does a number of brilliant things here, but it’s hard not to watch roommates Towe and Burleson. Towe just makes smart play after smart play, while Burleson is astoundingly agile for someone his size. You almost can’t believe he can maneuver the way that he does.
State won, 103-100, in overtime, and this game had major ramifications: because at that time, only one team per conference went to the tournament, the #4 Terps, unquestionably a Final Four-level team, were left out.
The following year, the NCAA tournament expanded from 23 teams to 32.
By the way, you’ll notice that in this game, there is no three-point shot, no shot clock, and no dunking.
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