1974 ACC men's basketball tournament

1974 ACC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1973–74
Teams	7
Site	Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Champions	NC State (8th title)
Winning coach	Norm Sloan (3rd title)
MVP	Tommy Burleson (NC State)
ACC men's basketball tournaments

1973–74 ACC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 NC State †	12	–	0		1.000			30	–	1		.968
No. 4 Maryland	9	–	3		.750			23	–	5		.821
No. 12 North Carolina	9	–	3		.750			22	–	6		.786
Virginia	4	–	8		.333			11	–	16		.407
Clemson	3	–	9		.250			14	–	12		.538
Wake Forest	3	–	9		.250			13	–	13		.500
Duke	2	–	10		.167			10	–	16		.385
† 1974 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 7–9. NC State defeated Maryland in overtime, 103–100, to win the championship. Tommy Burleson of NC State was named the tournament MVP.

The final pitted arguably the two best teams in the country and has long been regarded by many as 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 Division I men's basketball tournament to 32 teams, thus allowing more than one bid from a conference. That Maryland team, with six future NBA draft picks, is considered, by Bill Free of the Baltimore Sun newspaper, the greatest team that did not participate in the NCAA tournament.

Many considered it the all-time greatest college basketball game until Duke pulled off a last-second overtime finish in the 1992 NCAA Division I East Regional final for a 104–103 win over Kentucky. "I know they call the Duke–Kentucky game the greatest now," said Burleson in 1999 at a 25-year commemoration of the 1974 game, "but we're still the greatest ACC game ever."

NC State won the 1974 NCAA tournament, dethroning Bill Walton and seven-time defending national champion UCLA in the semifinals in another classic, before defeating Marquette in the final.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals March 7					Semifinals March 8					Championship Game March 9
						1	#1 NC State	87
						4	Virginia	66
	4	Virginia	68
	5	Clemson	63
											1	#1 NC State	103OT
											2	#4 Maryland	100
	2	#4 Maryland	85
	7	Duke	66
						2	#4 Maryland	105
						3	#6 North Carolina	85
	3	#6 North Carolina	76
	6	Wake Forest	62