Wolfpack Lookback – Sweet Sixteen

NCS Basketball NCSU Sports History Tradition17

Now that the Wolfpack’s tourney run is over, I thought I’d take a look back at the State teams that made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

2012
Record: 24-13
ACC: 9-7 (4th)
Seed: 11
Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (1st year)
Starting Five: Lorenzo Brown, C.J. Williams, Scott Wood, C.J. Leslie, Richard Howell

The Wolfpack received an at-large bid and was an 11 seed in the Midwest Region.

The Pack beat 6 seed San Diego State 79-65. Richard Howell scored 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting and Lorenzo Brown flirted with a triple double with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

Next the Pack defeated 3 seed Georgetown 66-63 behind a balanced attack of Scott Wood, C.J. Leslie and C.J. Williams with 14 each and Lorenzo Brown with 12.

The Pack would finally fall to the 2 seed and eventual Midwest Region champ Kansas, losing 60-57. C.J. Leslie scored 18 while Richard Howell pulled down 16 rebounds.

2005
Record: 21-14
ACC: 7-9 (6th)
Seed: 10
Head Coach: Herb Sendek (9th year)
Starting Five: Engin Atsur, Cameron Bennerman, Julius Hodge, Ilian Evtimov, Andrew Brackman

The Wolfpack got an at-large bid as the 10 seed in the Syracuse Region.

The Pack opened with a 75-63 win over Charlotte, coached by now-assistant Bobby Lutz. Julius Hodge led 5 double figure scorers with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.

That was followed up by the memorable Julius Hodge last second basket over UConn. Hodge scored on a drive with 4.3 seconds left to beat the Huskies 65-62. Hodge had 17 points while Cameron Bennerman added 15.

The Pack’s tourney run would end in the Sweet Sixteen after a 65-56 loss to 6 seed Wisconsin, a game the Pack led by 9 at the half. Engin Atsur had 16 while Hodge scored 14.

1989
Record: 22-9
ACC: 10-4 (1st)
Seed: 5
Head Coach: Jim Valvano (9th year)
Starting Five: Chris Corchiani, Rodney Monroe, Brian Howard, Chucky Brown, Avie Lester

The Wolfpack received an at-large bid, seeded 5th in the East Region.

State started off with a 81-66 win over 12 seed South Carolina. Rodney Monroe had 22 points while Chris Corchiani had 12 points and 11 assists. Chucky Brown had 12 points, Brian Howard had 11 points, Kelsey Weems had 12 points off the bench and Avie Lester pulled down 11 rebounds.

In the next round the Pack beat 4 seed Iowa 102-96 in double overtime. Rodney Monroe poured in 40 points and the rest of the starting 5 were also in double figures as Howard had 16, Corchiani had 16 and 10 assists, Brown had 14 and Lester had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Future Chicago Bull B.J. Armstrong had 20 for Iowa.

State would fall to 1 seed Georgetown 69-61 in a game that had a controversial traveling violation called on Corchiani. Monroe had 26 and Howard had 13 to lead the Pack. Alonzo Mourning had a double double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and added 5 blocks for the Hoyas.

1986
Record: 21-13
ACC: 7-7 (4th)
Seed: 6
Head Coach: Jim Valvano (6th year)
Starting Five: Nate McMillan, Ernie Myers, Bennie Bolton, Charles Shackleford, Chris Washburn

The Wolfpack received an at-large bid, seeded 6th in the Midwest Region.

State opened with a 66-64 win over 11 seed Iowa. Chris Washburn had 18 and Nate McMillan 15 to lead the Pack.

Next the Wolfpack beat 14 seed Arkansas-Little Rock 80-66 in double OT. Bennie Bolton had 24 points, Washburn had 22 and Charles Shackleford added 15 and 11 rebounds.

The Pack moved on to the Elite Eight with a 70-66 win over 7 seed Iowa St. Shackleford had 22, Washburn had 20 and Ernie Myers added 15.

State would fall to top seeded Kansas 75-67. Shackleford had 20 while Washburn had 17 and 10 rebounds. Danny Manning had 22 for Kansas.

1985
Record: 23-10
ACC: 9-5 (1st)
Seed: 3
Head Coach: Jim Valvano (5th year)
Starting Five: Spud Webb, Terry Gannon/Russell Pierre, Nate McMillan, Lorenzo Charles, Cozell McQueen

The Wolfpack received an at-large bid, seeded 3rd in the West Region.

State opened with a 65-56 win over 14 seed Nevada-Reno. Lorenzo Charles led the Pack with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Spud Webb added 11 points.

Next, State beat 11 seed UTEP 86-73. Charles had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Webb had 29 and 7 assists.

The Pack beat 7 seed Alabama 61-55 to move to the Elite Eight. Charles and Webb had 14 each and Bennie Bolton had 11 off the bench. Current head coach Mark Gottfried started for Bama, scoring 2 points and dishing out 2 assists.

State fell to top seeded St. John’s 69-60. Charles had 15 and Webb 14 while future Hall-of-Famer and Dream Teamer Chris Mullin had 25 for St. John’s.

1983
Record: 26-10
ACC: 8-6 (3rd, ACC tournament champs)
Seed: 6
Head Coach: Jim Valvano (3rd year)
Starting Five: Sidney Lowe, Dereck Whittenburg, Cozell McQueen, Thurl Bailey, Lorenzo Charles

State got an automatic bid as the ACC champion and was seeded 6th in the West Region. The tourney consisted of 52 teams.

The Pack first beat 11 seed Pepperdine 69-67 in double OT. Dereck Whittenburg had 22 points, Thurl Bailey 17 and Lorenzo Charles had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Next up was a 71-70 win over 3 seed UNLV. Bailey had 25 points and Charles had 17 and 11 rebounds. Future NBAer Sidney Green led UNLV with 27 and 10 boards.

State then beat 10 seed Utah 75-56. Whittenburg had 27 and Charles had 18 to lead the Pack.

To advance to the Final Four, State beat fellow ACC school and top seeded Virginia 63-62. Whittenburg had 24, Bailey had 14 and Charles had 11 and 10 rebounds. Ralph Sampson had 23 and 11 boards for UVA.

In the Final Four, State beat the number 4 seed in the East Georgia Bulldogs 67-60. Bailey had 20 and 10 rebounds, Whittenburg had 20 and Sidney Lowe had 10 and 11 assists. Future Indiana Pacer Vern Fleming had 14 and 11 rebounds for UGA.

Everyone knows what happened against the top seed from the Midwest Houston Coguars in the championship game. Bailey had 15 and Whittenburg 14 to lead the Pack. Future Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon had 20 and 18 rebounds.

1974
Record: 30-1
ACC: 12-0 (1st, ACC tourney champs)
Head Coach: Norm Sloan (8th year)
Starting Five: Monte Towe, Moe Rivers, David Thompson, Tim Stoddard, Tommy Burleson

The Wolfpack received the automatic bid as ACC champs and was placed in the East region (teams were not seeded). The tourney featured 25 teams.

State opened with a 92-78 win over Providence. David Thompson had 40 points and 10 rebounds and Tommy Burleson had 16 points and 24 rebounds.

State then beat Pitt 100-72 to advance to the Final Four. Burleson had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Monte Towe had 17, Moe Rivers had 17 and Phil Spence had 10 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.

Up next was the legendary matchup with the UCLA Bruins, who had won the last 7 titles. The Wolfpack came away with a 80-77 double OT win. Thompson had 28 and 10 rebounds and Burleson had 20 and 14 rebounds. Future Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton had 29 and 18 rebounds.

The Wolfpack beat Marquette for our 1st national title 76-64. Thompson had 21, Burleson 14 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks, Towe had 16 and Rivers had 14.

1970
Record: 23-7
ACC: 9-5 (2nd, ACC tourney champs)
Head Coach: Norm Sloan (4th year)
Starting Five: Paul Coder, Vann Williford, Rick Anheuser, Ed Leftwich, Joe Dunning

The Wolfpack received the automatic bid as ACC champs and was placed in the East region (teams were not seeded). The tourney consisted of 25 teams so the Pack was automatically seeded into the Sweet Sixteen.

State lost to St. Bonaventure 80-68. Vann Williford led the Pack with 35 points and 12 rebounds.

In the East region 3rd place game, State beat Niagra 108-88. Williford had 36 points and 11 rebounds, Rick Anheuser had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Coder had 24 points and 13 rebounds.

1965
Record: 21-5
ACC: 10-4 (2nd, ACC tourney champs)
Head Coach: Press Maravich (1st year)
Starting Five: Pete Coker, Tommy Mattocks, Larry Lakins, Billy Moffitt, Eddie Biedenbach

The Wolfpack received the automatic bid as ACC champs and was placed in the East region (teams were not seeded). The tourney consisted of 23 teams so the Pack was automatically seeded into the Sweet Sixteen.

State fell to Princeton 66-48. Larry Worsley led the Pack with 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.

In the East region 3rd place game, State beat St. Joseph’s 103-81. Larry Lakins led 5 players in double figures with 33 points.

1954
Record: 26-7
ACC: 5-3 (4th, ACC tourney champs)
Head Coach: Everett Case (8th year)
Starting Five: Mel Thompson, Dick Tyler, Ronnie Shavlik, Lou Dickman/Herb Applebaum, Phil DiNardo/Dave Gotkin

The Wolfpack received the automatic bid as ACC champs and was placed in the East region (teams were not seeded). The tourney consisted of 24 teams.

State opened with a 75-73 win over George Washington. Ronnie Shavlik had 20 points, Mel Thompson and Dick Tyler added 14 each and Vic Molodet had 12 off the bench.

The Pack then lost to LaSalle in the Sweet Sixteen 88-81. Shavlik had 24, Thompson had 19 and Molodet had 14 off the bench.

In the consolation game State beat Cornell 65-54. Thompson had 26 and Molodet had 18 off the bench.

1952
Record: 24-10
Southern Conference: 12-2 (2nd, Southern Conf tourney champs)
Head Coach: Everett Case (6th year)

The tourney consisted of only 16 teams so the Pack was automatically seeded in the East Region into the Sweet Sixteen.

State lost to St. John’s 60-49. In the consolation game the Wolfpack beat Penn St 69-60.

1951
Record: 30-7
Southern Conference: 13-1 (1st, Southern Conf tourney champs)
Head Coach: Everett Case (5th year)

The tourney consisted of only 16 teams so the Pack was automatically seeded in the East Region into the Sweet Sixteen.

State beat Villanova 67-62 before falling to Illinois 84-70. In the consolation game State lost to St. John’s 71-59.

1950
Record: 27-6
Southern Conference: 12-2 (1st, Southern Conf tourney champs)
Head Coach: Everett Case (4th year)

The 1950 tourney only featured 8 teams so the Pack was automatically in the Elite Eight. However the 1950 team did reach the Final Four, the 1st in the school’s history.

State beat Holy Cross 87-74 in the East Region quarterfinals before falling 78-73 to eventual national champ CCNY. State would go on to beat Baylor 53-41 in the 3rd place game.

About WV Wolf

Graduated from NCSU in 1996 with a degree in statistics. Born and inbred in West "By God" Virginia and now live in Raleigh where I spend my time watching the Wolfpack, the Mountaineers and the Carolina Hurricanes as well as making bar graphs for SFN. I'm @wvncsu on the Twitter machine.

NCS Basketball NCSU Sports History Tradition

17 Responses to Wolfpack Lookback – Sweet Sixteen

  1. DRW 03/29/2012 at 2:47 PM #

    I’ve heard some older Wolfpackers say that the 1954 team was one of Case’s best and should have won the whole thing. Correct me if I’m wrong.

  2. MP 03/30/2012 at 12:09 PM #

    Lorenzo Charles sure did put up some big numbers in several of his games.

  3. Six Pack 03/30/2012 at 12:51 PM #

    DRW,
    I could be wrong, but you may be getting it confused with the 1956 team. For most of the year that team was in the top 3 in the country and ended up losing in the first round of the tournament to Canisus in 3 or 4 overtimes. It is still considered one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

  4. Hawkeye Whitney 03/30/2012 at 1:12 PM #

    Every time I see Press Maravich’s name, I think what could have been if Pistol Pete had just scored a little higher on his standardized test.

  5. NCSU84 03/30/2012 at 2:59 PM #

    Hawkeye, Press went on to coach at LSU. I thought Pete decided to play at LSU because he wanted to play for his dad. Correct me if I am wrong.

  6. DC_wolf 03/30/2012 at 3:13 PM #

    ’84, what Hawkeye is referring to: had Pistol’s test scores been a little higher he would have been allowed to play @ State – instead, Press moved on to LSU where the requirements weren’t as stringent.

    Seems hard to believe that a University wouldn’t allow the coach’s own son to play because he didn’t make a test score, but that is the story as I was told. Heck, NCSU wouldn’t even give Norm Sloan the salary he wanted – & he won them a Nat’l championship!

    I agree Hawkeye, all those 40 point games MIGHT have belonged to NCSU…

  7. DRW 03/30/2012 at 3:15 PM #

    Six: You are right, it was ’56. Thanks for setting me straight.

  8. Sweet jumper 03/30/2012 at 4:19 PM #

    Pistol Pete could not score the ACC required minimum of 800 on the SAT to play in the ACC even with a year of prep school. Rumor is that he scored 796 on his last try. The SEC had lower standards and Press and Pete went to LSU as a “package” deal.

  9. highstick 03/30/2012 at 4:45 PM #

    Pete was not the only player we lost to LSU in that deal. Anyone remember the name Nelson Isley? If I remember correctly, he was recruited by Press and wasn’t really a fan of Sloan after he took over. So he transferred to LSU and had a pretty good career.

    http://www.coachesclipboard.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=703:time-out-with-nelson-isley&catid=138:time-out-with

  10. pacman23 03/30/2012 at 11:11 PM #

    This list is great and really helps put some perspective on what an achievement this past season turned out to be and just how good we had it under Jimmy V’s watch.
    One caveat – there should be a “what if” team included on that list – the 27-0 1972-73 team that was excluded from the tourney. I still think the ’73 team was better than the ’74 team that won the championship. We had Joe Cafferky as a senior leader and that guy was really special. He was sorely missed in the game against UCLA in St. Louis in the fall of ’73. I think we’d have likely won it all two years in a row if given the chance.

  11. Cosmo96 03/31/2012 at 1:02 AM #

    Before we won it all in 1974, we were awesome in consolation games.

  12. PackerInRussia 03/31/2012 at 5:57 AM #

    Correct me if I’m wrong (seems to be the popular phrase today), but I seem to remember thinking that in 2005, if they had won, they’d go on to play UNC (just like this year). Am I misremembering?

  13. PackerInRussia 03/31/2012 at 6:02 AM #

    Add Pistol Pete to the list of “what if he’d gone here” players (ones that there was a realistic chance of having). Danny Manning was written about a week or so ago. It’s been noted several times that Jordan grew up a State fan. That would be an impressive list of legendary players to boast of; not just legendary among Wolfpack or ACC fans, but all-time.

  14. Rochester 03/31/2012 at 6:22 AM #

    Packer in Russia, you are correct. I attended the game we lost to Wisconsin in the Carrier Dome. After we blew our halftime lead I had to sit there and watch Carolina whip up on Villanova (I think it was Villanova). We went back to the bus early because I just couldn’t stand it, and listened to the end over the radio. When the game tightened up late I almost wished we were back inside. At least seeing the Heels lose would have made the day less painful.

  15. packman12 03/31/2012 at 10:57 AM #

    Rochester, remember ’83 as well. We were headed for a epic showdown with UNC in the Final Four. But, Georgia beat the Holes in the East Regional final, 82-77. That was a huge upset as UNC was the defending national champ. We had beaten the Holes, in O.T., during our run through the ACC tournament. Not sure we could have beaten them again.

  16. Texpack 03/31/2012 at 11:52 AM #

    We beat UNC-CH 2 out of 3 in ’83. Once without Whittenburg. We’d have kicked their tails in Albuquerque.

  17. Packster 04/01/2012 at 4:49 PM #

    This is a great documentary….but dude….you have WAY too much free time on your hands!

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