Dec. 17, 2007
December 17, 1962
North Carolina, coming off a loss at Indiana, defeats favored Kentucky 68-66 on the Wildcats' homecourt in Lexington, Ky.. Point guard Larry Brown, with 17 points, keys the Tar Heel offense and unheralded Yogi Poteet shuts down Kentucky's Cotton Nash, holding the All-American to 12 points. It's only the 15th homecourt loss in 21 seasons for Wildcat head coach Adolph Rupp.
December 18, 1956
Duke rallies from a 15-point deficit to edge No. 7 Kentucky, 85-84, in front of a raucous crowd at Duke Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils trail all the way, but score the game's last 10 points, forcing four Kentucky turnovers in the final 50 seconds. Guard Bobby Joe Harris had two steals in the final 30 seconds and his steal and pass ahead to Bucky Allen produce the go-ahead layup.
December 20, 1978
Ernest Graham scores 44 points to lead Maryland to a 124-110 victory over No. 4 ranked NC State in the highest scoring ACC game ever played. The matchup is the first between the two rivals since the 1978 ACC Tournament first round, when the Terps scored a 109-108 victory over the Wolfpack in triple-overtime in the highest scoring ACC Tournament game ever played.
December 20, 2003
No. 14-ranked Wake Forest upsets No. 4 North Carolina, 119-114, in triple overtime in the Smith Center in one of the most exciting regular season games in league history. A total of 13 players score in double-figures, including seven for the Deacons and six for the Tar Heels. Rashad McCants scores 25 to lead UNC, while point guard Raymond Felton adds 22 points and 11 assists. However, Wake Forest gets 24 points from center Eric Williams and 20 from guard Justin Gray, while freshman point guard Chris Paul contributes 18 points and eight assists. The 233 total points are one off the ACC record of 234 set by Maryland and N.C. State exactly 25 years earlier.
December 21, 1962Sophomore Rick Barry and senior Mike McCoy lead Miami to a 71-69 victory over No. 2 Duke - the highest ranked opponent the Hurricane program has ever beaten at home. It would be Duke's last defeat before the Final Four as Art Heyman, Jeff Mullins and company would follow the Miami loss with 21 straight wins.
December 21, 1962
No. 1 Duke overcomes a 14-point second-half deficit to edge No. 3 Michigan, 100-93, in overtime. Duke All-American Jack Marin and Michigan superstar Cazzie Russell each poured in 30 points, but Bob Verga's 27-point effort makes the difference for the Blue Devils. The junior guard has a pair of steals and baskets in the final minute of regulation to help Duke reach overtime, then scores nine points in the extra period to clinch the win.
December 22, 1990
Georgia Tech sophomore guard Kenny Anderson pours in a school record 50 points in a 135-94 victory over Loyola-Marymount ... Anderson hits on 18-of-27 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three point range ... Jon Barry adds 27 points as Tech tallies 82 second-half points.
December 22, 1953
NC State holds high-scoring Bevo Francis to 32 points in a 92-77 victory over Rio Grande College. The 6-9 Francis averaged 50.1 points a game against small-college competition the year before and would average 46 a game against NCAA competition in 1953-54.
December 22, 1979
Virginia center Ralph Sampson sets a new ACC record for blocked shots and records his first "triple-double" when the 7-4 sophomore blocks 12 shots and adds 16 points and 14 rebounds in an 84-60 victory over Army in the Cable Car Classic. Sampson's record for blocked shots would be tied by both Derrick and Cedric Lewis of Maryland, then later broken by Miami's Anthony King. Sampson adds a second "triple-double" exactly one week later when he has 15 points, 22 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in a 79-68 victory over Old Dominion.
December 26, 1981
No. 1-ranked North Carolina edges No. 2 Kentucky, 82-69, in the new Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. James Worthy leads the Tar Heels with 26 points, while sophomore big man Sam Perkins adds 21 and freshman guard Michael Jordan punctures the Kentucky zone with 19 points.
December 27, 1985
Nine Tar Heels score in double figures as North Carolina beats Manhattan, 129-45, in the opening round of the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami. The game sets ACC records for margin of victory (84 points) and for assists (41). The game is the second of a four-game stretch where the average win margin by the Tar Heels was 58.5 points per game.
