On March 7, 1970…

College Basketball Tradition8

On March 7, 1970…

Unranked NC State defeated Frank McGuire’s 3rd-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in double overtime by a score of 42-39 to win Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in the Charlotte Coliseum. South Carolina had achieved immortality by compiling an undefeated conference record of 14-0 in the regular season. The loss kept the Gamecocks from advancing to the NCAA Tournament and added to South Carolina’s mounting frustrations associated with their ACC membership.

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College Basketball Tradition

8 Responses to On March 7, 1970…

  1. RickJ 03/07/2010 at 8:48 AM #

    This game is a great memory. It is impossible to overstate just how painful a loss this was to South Carolina. They were hosting the East Regional in Columbia that year – everything was in place for them to make it to the Final Four. Not only did we knock them out of the NCAA but since they were hosting an NCAA regional, there was a rule that did not allow them to accept an NIT bid.

  2. Texpack 03/07/2010 at 10:26 AM #

    It is also impossible to overstate the level of joy experienced by me, an NC State fan growing up in South Carolina, as a result of this victory. Ed Leftwitch stole a pass and took it in for a layup to put State in control in the second OT. I believe this was the tournament at the end of a season of fights, most of them involving the Gamecocks, in the ACC. There was a lot of resentment created in the ACC by Frank McGuire and the way he bolted UNC-CH for the NBA when the point shaving penalties came down on the various ACC programs. He was just as hated as Dean Smith ever was.

  3. TheAliasTroll 03/07/2010 at 11:28 AM #

    I’ve got a feeling that 30 years from now you’ll be posting a story about how today was the beginning of our 11 game winning streak to glory!!!

  4. StateFans 03/07/2010 at 3:38 PM #

    I have never seen any video of this game. This is the type of game I would like to have seen a little.

  5. Sweet jumper 03/07/2010 at 10:24 PM #

    I was 10 at the time and remember that game and that team well. Vann Williford was from Fayetteville and he was the senior leader of that team. Rick Anheuser was the other forward. Paul Coder was the center. Ed Leftwich and Al Heartley were the guards. They were a hard-working team that played tough defense and played every opponent a tough game–a reflection of their coach, Stormin’ Norman Sloan. USC was highly ranked. They were cocky and combative–a reflection of their coach, Frank McGuire. John Roche and Bobby Cremins were the guards, Tom Riker was the center, Tom Owens was a forward and I think Walsh was the other forward. John Roche was a great player. He sprained his ankle in the semifinal game and was given a shot of pain medicine to the ankle before the final game. He was hobbling and not 100%. It was a big upset and a great win for the Pack. Vann Williford was the MVP of the tournament(Case Award)–He was also Sloan’s first recruit after taking over for Press Maravich, so it was special for Sloan and Williford and the rest of Wolfpack nation. It was also a big deal in Fayetteville.

  6. highstick 03/07/2010 at 11:05 PM #

    And 6 days later, the US Army let “me go”!! Just in time to go to the Final Four in College Park waiting on the Pack…but they weren’t there!

    Met Roche a couple of years later in Raleigh after an ABA game. A friend of mine was a Carolina Cougarette and she used to have an occasional party at her apartment near Cameron Village after the ABA games. Met some real interesting characters at those parties. It was always interesting to watch the former ACC players interact with each other in a different setting.

  7. PackerInRussia 03/08/2010 at 10:48 AM #

    “Not only did we knock them out of the NCAA but since they were hosting an NCAA regional, there was a rule that did not allow them to accept an NIT bid.”

    What a contrast to today’s NCAA basketball where we’re debating whether or not to increase the field to 96 teams. “Trophies for all” will be the next push.

    Another indication of the changed times: 42-39 in DOUBLE OT.

  8. Texpack 03/09/2010 at 12:17 PM #

    John Ribock and not Walsh was the other enforcer forward for the Gamecocks.

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