College Basketball’s Greatest Game? 1974 NC State vs Maryland

   • 1974 final four NC state vs UCLA ending   On March 9, 1974 a look back in time at what is generally considered the greatest game in ACC history -- NC State's 103-100 overtime victory against Maryland in the 1974 tournament final When coach Norm Sloan's Wolfpack, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, met No. 4 Maryland at Greensboro Coliseum, it wasn't just for the ACC's championship trophy. It was also a game to decide the conference's one and only bid to the NCAA tournament. The matchup featured teams that would eventually send eight players to the NBA and had lost only five games between them to that point in the season. Maryland shot 61 percent. State shot 55 percent. In an era long before the advent of shot clock and three-point line, the Wolfpack and Terrapins combined to score 203 points In the end, the game went to overtime with State winning 103-100 in what is generally acknowledged as the greatest game in ACC history. “That was one of the greatest college games that has ever been played,” Sloan said after the game. “And I think we beat the second-best team in the nation tonight.” Thompson, the ACC's Player of the Year, had 29 points for the Wolfpack. But the best player on the court that day was Burleson. The 7-foot-4 center went 18 of 25 from the floor to finish with 38 points. He also had 13 rebounds in a performance that was motivated by his losing out on first-team all-conference honors to Maryland big man Len Elmore