Tobacco Roads Over Takes New York

There has not been much excitement in the City of New York about the ACC tournament.  News papers it is on the back pages all week but not Friday as Duke and North Carolina meeting for the third time this year has become front page news in Gotham City.  That traditional return to Friday night semi finals is back and every TV set in North Carolina is tuned in to see the Devils meet the Heels just like it use to be when the ACC was the ACC.  Frenzy has over taken New York mostly because all of those Duke Graduates now live in the New York/New Jersey area.  This is not the first meeting between these two in New York.  They met each other in the semi finals of the NIT in 1971. Do you remember why they were there?

North Carolina was the regular season champion of the ACC with an 11-3 record.  South Carolina in their last ACC season was second at 10-4 and Duke finished third at 9-5.   NC State upset Duke in the first round at Greensboro 68-61 while South Carolina beat Maryland 71-68.  The Gamecocks beat the Pack 69-56 while Carolina breezed through Clemson 76-41 and Virginia 78-68.

 Then in the championship game the Tar Heels met South Carolina in one of the strangest endings in ACC history.  I can't find any box score on the internet but from my semi not so good memory The Tar Heels led 51-50  and a jump ball was called in the foul circle in front of the Gamecocks basket with just a few seconds left.  Lee Dedmon The Tar Heels center was jumping for North Carolina  against John Roach a Gamecock guard who stood 6 feet one while Demon nine inches taller.  No way right that South Carolina will win this jump or the game right?

Dedmon tapped the ball toward the South Carolina basket where a Gamecock player caught it and laid it in the basket as time expired.  South Carolina stole the ACC title from the Tar Heels. South Carolina now goes to the NCAA as the only ACC Team the champion could go back then. The NCAA only had 24 team field back then so South Carolina got a bye in the opening round and then met Penn who destroyed the Gamecocks  69-54.  How did we ever let them represent us?

North Carolina and Duke were both invited to the NIT.  Carolina had gone in 1970 and lost in the opening round and the ACC excuse was "It was hard to get up for the NIT after not winning the ACC Tournament.  So Carolina had to make up for the year before embarrassment.  Duke was going for the first time which made it the first time the ACC had ever sent two teams to the NIT.

Carolina wins their opener 90-49 over U Mass.  Duke takes down the Dayton Flyers 68-60.  Round two Carolina slipped past Providence 86-79 while Duke beat Tennessee 78-64.  Then it happened the only time in the history of the world that Duke and North Carolina played each other in a playoff game not called the ACC Tournament.  Carolina won 73-67.  They would then beat Georgia Tech 84-66 to win the 1971 NIT while Duke lost the 3rd place game to St Bonaventure 92-88.

  North Carolina forgot once Berry got four fouls that they had controlled the game on the inside all night.  I would like to see the stats Carolina's outside shooting totals the last 14 minutes.   They didn't make many.  They put on a show for 37 minutes these two from Tobacco Roads.  It will not go down as a classic but this game felt like Greensboro and the way the ACC Tournament ought to feel.  Just goes to prove. Checkers, badminton, State, Duke or Carolina when they play each other it is life or death regardless of where they play.