Big Four Tournament
Sport | Basketball |
---|---|
Founded | 1971 |
Ceased | 1981 |
No. of teams | 4 |
Country | United States |
Most titles | Wake Forest (4) |
The Big Four Tournament was an annual college basketball tournament played from 1971 to 1981 in Greensboro, North Carolina.[1] The field consisted of the "Big Four" North Carolina Atlantic Coast Conference schools: NC State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The four previously participated in the Dixie Classic from 1949–1960.
The tournament was held in December,[2] before the holiday season started, and consisted of two rounds. Each team would play one other team. The two winners then played for the championship and the two losers would play for third place. The games did not count in the ACC standings, but did count on a team's overall seasonal record, as did their team and individual stats.[3]
The tournament came to an end in 1981, when participating schools and their coaches decided that the extra competition, aggravation of playing top conference rivals a third time each season, and the toll of all but one team getting one or more losses on its record so early in the season, outweighed their share of the gate and media revenues, substantial fan interest, and the chance to test themselves against the best in the ACC without the outcome affecting their conference records.
Games
[edit]Years | Round | Winner | Loser | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1970–71 | First | Wake Forest | Duke | 83–77 |
First | NC State | North Carolina | 82–70 | |
Third Place | North Carolina | Duke | 83–81 | |
Championship | NC State | Wake Forest | 73–70 | |
1971–72 | First | NC State | Duke | 67–62 |
First | North Carolina | Wake Forest | 99–76 | |
Third Place | Duke | Wake Forest | 70–58 | |
Championship | North Carolina | NC State | 99–68 | |
1972–73 | First | North Carolina | Duke | 91–86 |
First | NC State | Wake Forest | 88–83 | |
Third Place | Duke | Wake Forest | 80–67 | |
Championship | NC State | North Carolina | 68–61 | |
1973–74 | First | Wake Forest | Duke | 64–61 |
First | NC State | North Carolina | 78–77 | |
Third Place | North Carolina | Duke | 84–75 | |
Championship | NC State | Wake Forest | 91–73 | |
1974–75 | First | Duke | North Carolina | 99–96 OT |
First | Wake Forest | NC State | 83–78 | |
Third Place | NC State | North Carolina | 82–67 | |
Championship | Wake Forest | Duke | 75–71 | |
1975–76 | First | NC State | Duke | 104–95 |
First | Wake Forest | North Carolina | 95–88 | |
Third Place | North Carolina | Duke | 77–74 | |
Championship | Wake Forest | NC State | 93–78 | |
1976–77 | First | Wake Forest | Duke | 81–80 |
First | North Carolina | NC State | 78–66 | |
Third Place | Duke | NC State | 84–82 | |
Championship | Wake Forest | North Carolina | 97–96 | |
1977–78 | First | North Carolina | Duke | 79–66 |
First | NC State | Wake Forest | 79–77 | |
Third Place | Duke | Wake Forest | 97–84 | |
Championship | North Carolina | NC State | 87–82 | |
1978–79 | First | Duke | NC State | 65–63 |
First | North Carolina | Wake Forest | 73–55 | |
Third Place | NC State | Wake Forest | 77–70 | |
Championship | Duke | North Carolina | 78–68 | |
1979–80 | First | Duke | Wake Forest | 72–70 |
First | North Carolina | NC State | 97–84 | |
Third Place | NC State | Wake Forest | 70–65 | |
Championship | Duke | North Carolina | 86–74 | |
1980–81 | First | North Carolina | Duke | 78–76 |
First | Wake Forest | NC State | 87–57 | |
Third Place | NC State | Duke | 74–60 | |
Championship | Wake Forest | North Carolina | 82–71 |
Championships
[edit]Team | Championships | Record |
---|---|---|
Wake Forest | 4 | 10–12 |
NC State | 3 | 13–9 |
North Carolina | 2 | 12–10 |
Duke | 2 | 9–13 |
- All games played at Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "TheWolfpacker - NC State's in-state rivalries once included the Big Four Tournament". ncstate.rivals.com. January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Duke Men's Basketball vs. North Carolina -- Big Four Tournament, Greensboro, N. C. (December 19, 1970) (BB-000030)". Rubenstein Library. Archived from the original on 2020-02-28.
- ^ Fimrite, Ron. "Cry Wolf in Carolina". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "College Basketball Statistics and History". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Your Opinion? Remembering the Acc'S Big Four Tournament". collegehoopsdaily.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Big Four Tournament at Wikimedia Commons