Hungry Like a Wolf & Nowhere to Feed
The 1973 N.C. State Wolfpack finished the basketball season undefeated, but were banned from tournament play
INTRODUCTION from The Sports Time Traveler™
I’m taking a day off from the 1973 Mets spring training to report on something unbelievable going on in NCAA basketball.
The regular season has ended and there are 2 undefeated teams.
But they won’t get a chance to meet in the NCAA tournament.
I made the virtual trip to Raleigh, NC, 50 years ago today, to unravel this story for you.
RALEIGH, NC - March 15, 1973
The 1973 NCAA basketball tournament begins tonight across America.
UCLA, boasting a record 71 game winning streak, and winners of the last 6 consecutive titles, begin their defense on their homecourt, Pauley Pavilion, against Arizona State.
The Bruins are led by 6 - 11 junior center Bill Walton, already being touted as among the greatest college basketball middlemen ever. Walton is averaging 20 ppg on 65% shooting, as well as 17 rebounds and numerous blocks per game.
They also feature sleek shooting junior forward Keith Wilkes averaging 15 ppg on 53% shooting.
Although it sounds like UCLA is a sure shot to win their 7th straight title, there is a team that poses a real threat to UCLA if they were to play.
It’s the North Carolina State Wolfpack
They are led by sophomore forward David Thompson. Thompson has a 44 inch vertical leap. He can also shoot a basketball with uncanny accuracy as he averaged 25 points on 57% shooting this season.
In addition, the team has a tower in the middle who could make things tough for Walton. It’s the impossibly tall 7-4 Tom Burleson, the Wolfpack’s center, who averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds.
N.C. State went 27 - 0 in the regular season and won the ACC tournament last weekend.
The final AP and UPI polls both ranked the Wolfpack #2 behind UCLA.
Is N.C. State the real #1 team?
A strong case could be made for N.C. State to be #1. The Wolfpack beat 4 top 7 teams en route to their undefeated regular season including teams that were ranked #2 and #3 at the time they played them.
The best team UCLA played all season was ranked #9.
In addition, the Wolfpack won their games by an average of 22 points, just ahead of UCLA, which averaged a 21 point margin.
A Matchup for the Ages
It seems like a potentially sensational and historic NCAA Final match up is coming.
Never in the history of the NCAA have two undefeated teams met for the championship game.
But it will not happen
N.C. State has been banned from post season play for recruiting violations in the summer of 1971, when coach Norm Sloan met with David Thompson. The ban was announced back in October, with no specific details revealed. NCAA chief investigator, Warren Brown, simply stated, “It was an accumulation of things rather than any one violation.”
Whatever transpired it will cost the Wolfpack a chance at a title and it will rob basketball fans of a chance to see a historic matchup of 2 undefeated teams vying for an NCAA title.
The ACC Championship - the Wolfpack’s consolation game
The ACC championship game last weekend was the final game of the season for the Wolfpack. Their opponent, Maryland, was ranked as high as #2 during the season, and was ranked #10 entering the game.
Maryland featured a big frontcourt with Len Elmore and Tom McMillen, a 6-11 junior, who averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds and can play straight up against Burleson.
For the Wolfpack the game meant a chance to at least win an ACC title and finish undefeated.
Tied at Halftime
At halftime the score was tied at 32. The Wolfpack were lucky to be in the game since Thompson was held scoreless in the 1st half of the ACC title game. A.J. Carr writing in the Raleigh News and Observer commented, “something like that should be in Ripley’s Believe it or Not.”
Carr wrote that Burleson, “was a major menace in the 1st half, the man who kept the Wolfpack going.” He finished with a game high 14 rebounds.
Thompson Takes Over
Things finally clicked for Thompson as soon as the 2nd half began, “I got my confidence back after I hit hat 1st shot in the 2nd half. It all started to fall right then.” And as a result he was comfortable on the free throw line with 9 seconds to play when he got his chance to ice the game. “I was relaxed then. It was like being on the playground.”
Thompson, who scored 10 points in the 2nd half, made both free throws to put N.C. State up 76 - 72, and that was the final margin of victory.
At the 21:05 mark on this video you can watch David Thompson hit the 2 free throws with 9 seconds to go that iced the ACC championship and sealed the 27 - 0 undefeated season for the Wolfpack.
Disappointment Sets In After the Game
Addressing the fact that N.C. State’s season is now over, Thompson said, “I’m disappointed we aren’t going on. I think we are best fitted to play UCLA. We’ve got the big man in Burleson. I think we are a better match for them.”
POSTCRIPT from the The Sports Time Traveler™
50 years later there has still never been two undefeated teams that met in an NCAA Finals game.
Basketball fans were robbed of this historic potential match up in 1973.
And we still don’t know exactly why the NCAA banned N.C. State from participating in the NCAA tournament in 1973.
10 years ago Tim Peeler, author of ACC Basketball: A Fans Guide, quoted former N.C. State basketball coach Norm Sloan about the ban in 1973 saying, “It was uncalled for. It was inexcusable. It was laughable compared to what goes on these days.”
Peeler also quoted David Thompson who said, “It was all a bunch of nitpicky stuff. I think we had the team to win the championship in 1973.”
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