According to Sports Reference.com, there have been 51 ACC teams who have reached the Final Four, while 15 have won the National Championship (the most of any league). 1994-95 had one of the Final Fours and did not have a National Champion (that year’s champion was the Pac-10’s UCLA), so in no way was it the best.
What makes that season so special in ACC history, is the amazing race for the regular season title. There have been many years of two teams sharing the title, and one season with three (1984-85), 1994-95 had the unique distinction of having a four-way tie for first place. Those 4 schools were Wake Forest, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia, who all had 12 wins and 4 losses in ACC play. They were the league’s only teams to make the NCAA Tournament.
ACC IN 1995
Back in 1995, the ACC was still only a 9-team league, unlike the 17 teams it houses today. Of the 5 ACC teams that did not make the NCAAs in 1995, only Georgia Tech had a non-losing conference record, as they finished in 5th place at 8-8. They were on the “Bubble” to make the NCAA Tournament but were not selected.
After being “snubbed” from the NCAAs, Tech elected to not participate in the NIT Tournament. They would finish 18-12. Clemson, Florida State, NC State, and surprisingly Duke all finished with losing conference records. Out of those four schools, only Clemson had a winning overall record, they were 15-13. They were also the only ones to make the NIT.
Duke, one year removed from losing to Arkansas in the National Championship game in 1994, finished in last place. 1995 was the year Coach K missed half the season with back surgery, and his Assistant Pete Gaudet took over. Within two years, Coach K had Duke all the way back to ACC regular season champions. Now on to the point of the article, the four-way tie.
1994-95 FOUR-WAY TIE
All four teams that tied for 1st place, made the NCAA Tournament in 1994, along with that season’s league champ, Duke. All five ACC teams won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 1994. The conference would top that feat in 1995, as Wake Forest, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia each won at least two NCAA Tournament games.
Wake Forest and Maryland both made the Sweet 16. Virginia made it to the Elite 8, losing to the defending National Champion, Arkansas. North Carolina made the Final 4, also losing to Arkansas. The ACC title race in 1994-95
1995 ACC BREAKDOWN
MARYLAND
Coach Gary Williams, 12-4 (ACC), 26-8 overall, Sweet 16
Came into the ACC in January with a 10-2 non-conference record. After losing at #1 North Carolina in league game number 2, Maryland then won their next six, that included home wins Virginia and Wake, to go to 7-1 in league. After a loss at Georgia Tech, Maryland avenged their earlier loss to a still #1 North Carolina, with a win at home.
That started a modest two game win streak, to make the Terps 9-2. The Terps lost at Wake next but followed up with a three-game win streak to enter the regular season finale at #13 ranked archrival Virginia, at 12-3 and in 1st place all by themselves. North Carolina, Virginia, and Wake Forest were all 11-4 and needed a win to create a 4-way tie. If Maryland won against Virginia, the Terps would win the league by one game. North Carolina won at home vs Duke and Wake Forest won at home vs NC State, both games the night before finishing the regular season at 12-4.
The Terps knew what lay ahead for them, an outright ACC title, not one shared four ways. Virginia’s only hope for an ACC title was the four-way tie, they just had to avenge their earlier loss at Maryland. The game wasn’t close, Virginia dominated #6 Maryland 92-67, which caused the four-way tie. Maryland would be the 3rd seed for the ACC Tournament.
NORTH CAROLINA
Coach Dean Smith, 12-4 (ACC), 28-6 overall, Final 4
The Tar Heels came into the ACC with a 9-0 non-conference record and ranked #1. North Carolina suffered a shocking loss at rival NC State in the ACC opener. They beat #7 Maryland at home in the next game, which started an eight-game win streak and made the Tar Heels 8-1 in conference. That win streak also included a home win vs Virginia and a road win at Wake Forest.
In February, Carolina lost at Maryland, to split that series. They followed up with two straight wins to go to 10-2 in the ACC. The Heels were alone in 1st place, but lost a close game at Virginia, then won at Florida St to go to 11-3 in a 1st place tie with Maryland and Virginia. Wake Forest was in 4th at 10-4. With 2 home ACC games left vs in state rivals, Wake and Duke; Carolina was in decent position to win the league outright.
Wake Forest had other plans though and avenged their earlier loss to Carolina by beating the Tar Heels and causing a 3-way tie for 2nd place. North Carolina rebounded by beating their last place rival, Duke, to finish 12-4 and part of the four-way tie once Maryland lost to Virginia the next day. North Carolina would be the 2nd seed for the ACC Tournament.
VIRGINIA
Coach Jeff Jones, 12-4 (ACC), 25-9 overall, Elite 8
The Cavaliers were 6-3 and unranked after their non-conference. They won their first 4 league games until they lost at North Carolina to fall to 4-1 in the ACC. After a win, Virginia lost at home to Wake and at Maryland to go to 5-3. In danger of falling out of the race, Virginia responded with six straight conference wins, including a home win over #2 North Carolina.
A second close loss to Wake, this one on the road made the Cavaliers 11-4 and in a 3-way tie with Carolina and Wake for 2nd place. With first place Maryland coming to Virginia for the regular season finale, the Cavs had to win to grab a share of the ACC. As stated, before in the Maryland section of this article, not only did Virginia win, but they also dominated the Terps 92-67 to claim a share of the ACC title. Virginia would be the 4th seed in the ACC Tournament.
WAKE FOREST
Coach Dave Odom, 12-4 (ACC), 26-6 overall, Sweet 16
The Deacons entered ACC play with a 7-1 non-conference record. After winning their first 2 ACC games, Wake lost its next 2, at Maryland and at Georgia Tech. From a 2-2 conference start, they won their next 2, including at Virginia, Wake was 4-2 in league play. The Deacons lost two of their next three games, including at home to North Carolina and seemingly fell out of the race at 5-4.
Much like Virginia, who won 7 of its last 8 conference games to wind up tied for first, Wake Forest proceeded to win its last 7 conference games to become an ACC champion. Included in that steak were a home win vs Maryland, another close win vs Virginia (at home), and a revenge win at #2 North Carolina. The home win vs NC State to close the regular season, coupled with Carolina’s win over Duke and Virginia’s win over Maryland made Wake a part of the four-way tie. Wake Forest would be the 1st seed in the ACC Tournament.
TIE-BREAKERS
The tiebreakers for Conference Tournament seeding started with head-to-head. Since back in these days, everyone in the ACC played each other twice in a home-and-home series, there were 6 total games against the other 3 teams. Wake got the 1 seed because they went 4-2 vs the other three teams. Virginia was the 4 seed because they were 2-4 vs the other 3 teams.
This difference was because Wake swept Virginia, while every other series was a split. North Carolina and Maryland both went 3-3 against the other three 1st place teams and split their head-to-head matchups. Carolina was the 2 seed because they were higher ranked in the final AP regular season polls than Maryland, leaving the Terps as the 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. Georgia Tech was the 5 seed, Florida St was the 6 seed, Clemson the 7 seed, NC State was the 8 seed, and Duke was the 9 seed.
ACC TOURNAMENT
I’m not sure how often in college basketball history, that a conference tournament has had every game or all but one game in it where the higher seed (the team with the lower number next to it), won the game. The 1995 ACC Tournament was one where the higher seed won all but one game.
Higher seeds won seven of the eight games in the Tournament, and that took place in the very 1st game, when 9th seed Duke defeated 8th seed NC State 83-70 at the Greensboro Coliseum (where the ACC Tournament used to be always played). Below are the results from the Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final.
RESULTS
ACC Quarterfinals on Friday, March 10, 1995:
#4 Virginia 77 #5 Georgia Tech 67
#1 Wake Forest 87 #9 Duke 70
#2 N. Carolina 78 #7Clemson 62
#3 Maryland 71 #6 Florida State 64
With the 4 Conference Champions left, the Semis and Final would determine who the true ACC champ was.
ACC Semifinals on Saturday, March 11, 1995:
#1 Wake Forest 77 #4 Virginia 68
#2 North Carolina 97 #3 Maryland 92 (OT)
The Semifinals results left both Maryland and Virginia with 13-5 vs ACC teams, when you combine the regular season and conference tournament.
ACC Final on Sunday, March 12, 1995:
#1 Wake Forest 82 #2 North Carolina 80 (OT)
The ACC Tournament championship was Wake Forest’s 1st since 1962. The result of the Final left North Carolina at 14-5 vs ACC teams and Champion, Wake Forest at 15-4.
FULL ACC TITLE GAME
RECAPPING 94'-95' SEASON
1994-95 ACC Basketball may not have been the best season in league history, but it was unlike any other the league has ever had. I could write so much more about the great players and coaches in the league that season, but I hope to have given you a good representation of what made it so special.
1994-95 ACC Basketball Recap
Below are the Final standings for the conference, after the NCAA Tournament was finished.
1995 Final ACC Standings
Team W L PCT W L PCT
No. 3 Wake Forest † 12 – 4 .750 26 – 6 .813
No. 4 North Carolina 12 – 4 .750 28 – 6 .824
No. 10 Maryland 12 – 4 .750 26 – 8 .765
No. 13 Virginia 12 – 4 .750 25 – 9 .735
Georgia Tech 8 – 8 .500 18 – 12 .600
Florida State 5 – 11 .313 12 – 15 .444
Clemson 5 – 11 .313 15 – 13 .536
NC State 4 – 12 .250 12 – 15 .444
Duke 2 – 14 .125 13 – 18 .419
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS AND GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS
ACC Player of the Year – Joe Smith, Maryland
ACC Coach of the Year – Dave Odom, Wake Forest
ACC Tournament MVP – Randolph Childress, Wake Forest
ACC Freshman of the Year – Gregg Buckner, Clemson
Game-by-Game NCAA Tournament results for the ACC
North Carolina Southeast Regional
North Carolina 80 Murray State 70 (1st Round)
North Carolina 73 Iowa State 51 (2nd Round)
North Carolina 74 Georgetown 64 (Sweet 16)
North Carolina 74 Kentucky 61 (Elite 8)
Arkansas 75 North Carolina 68 (Final 4)
Virginia Midwest Regional
Virginia 96 Nicholls State 72 (1st Round)
Virginia 60 Miami (Ohio) 54 (OT) (2nd Round)
Virginia 67 Kansas 58 (Sweet 16)
Arkansas 68 Virginia 61 (Elite 8)
Wake Forest East Regional
Wake Forest 79 NC A&T 47 (1st Round)
Wake Forest 64 Saint Louis 59 (2nd Round)
Oklahoma State 71 Wake Forest 66 (Sweet 16)
Maryland West Regional
Maryland 87 Gonzaga 63 (1st Round)
Maryland 82 Texas 68 (2nd Round)
Connecticut 99 Maryland 89 (Sweet 16)
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AUTHOR BIO - CEDRIC HORNE
Cedric Horne is a husband and father, living in Lancaster, PA. He was born in Chicago (which is the main reason he is a fan of the Blackhawks and Bulls). The Cubs are okay, but his people are from the South Side, so he’s White Sox all the way. He also likes the Bears, but the Denver Broncos have always been his favorite team.
He was raised in Rochester, NY (his hometown of 40 years). It was there that he began coaching high school basketball, which he has been doing for 30 years now, 21 in New York State and the last 9 in Pennsylvania.
Basketball is his favorite sport, particularly the collegiate level. His articles will focus on the history of college basketball. Who knows, maybe someday he might even do a podcast on college basketball someday?
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