There have been 69 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournaments; 70 if we count the COVID-truncated 2020 tournament, which I am not.
Teams from North Carolina have won 54 of them.
But that’s a bit misleading. Wake Forest only has four. They won in 1961 and 1962 behind Len Chappell, one of the best players in ACC history. They won in 1995 and 1996 behind Tim Duncan, one of the best players in ACC history.
Nothing since then. In fact, they haven’t even made the title game since 1996.
The title drought is even longer in Raleigh. NC State has 10 titles but four of those came in the first six tournaments, when Everett Case cast a long shadow. Jimmy V won twice, 1983 and 1987. But 1987 is their last title. They have made the title game four times since then but lost in 1997 and 2007 to North Carolina and 2002 and 2003 to Duke.
Yes, Duke and North Carolina, the two 800-pound gorillas that dominate ACC hoops. Duke has 22 titles, North Carolina 18.
They’re seeded to meet in the title game this year if they can win twice.
A brief history lesson or two before I move on to 2024.
Four of those 22 Duke titles came in seasons in which Duke lost both regular-season games to Carolina, all under very different circumstances.
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