The 1949 Dixie Classic was a mid-season college basketball tournament held December 28–30, 1949 at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the first iteration of the Dixie Classic and it was part of the 1949–50 NCAA men's basketball season.
| Season | 1949–50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 8 | ||||
| Finals site | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina | ||||
| Champions | NC State (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Penn State (1st title game) | ||||
| Winning coach | Everett Case (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Dick Dickey (NC State) | ||||
| Attendance | 54,400[1] | ||||
| |||||
The championship game was contested by favorite NC State, who cruised to the final with double-digit wins over Rhode Island State and Georgia Tech, and underdog Penn State, who advanced with narrow upset wins over Duke and West Virginia.[2] After initially struggling against Penn State's zone defense, NC State rallied back from a halftime deficit and won by a score of 50–40.[3] Dick Dickey of NC State was voted most valuable player of the tournament.[4]
Teams
editEach year, the Dixie Classic included the "Big Four" teams (Duke, NC State, North Carolina, and Wake Forest), as well as four other invited teams. The 1949 teams were:[5][6]
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
- NC State Wolfpack
- Rhode Island State Rams
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- West Virginia Mountaineers
- Duke Blue Devils
- Penn State Nittany Lions
The first round pairings were decided by drawing names from a hat on September 5, 1949.[7]
Bracket
edit| Consolation final | Consolation semifinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 28, 2:00pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 29, 2:00pm | Georgia Tech | 64 | Dec. 29, 3:30pm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 57 | Georgia Tech | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rhode Island State | 61 | Dec. 28, 3:30pm | NC State | 57 | |||||||||||||||||||
| NC State | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 30, 3:30pm | Rhode Island State | 64 | Dec. 30, 9:00pm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rhode Island State | 65 | NC State | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 60 | Dec. 28, 7:30pm | Penn State | 40 | |||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 29, 7:30pm | West Virginia | 58 | Dec. 29, 9:00pm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh place | North Carolina | 59 | West Virginia | 41 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dec. 30, 2:00pm | Duke | 52 | Dec. 28, 9:00pm | Penn State | 46 | Dec. 30, 7:30pm | |||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 52 | Duke | 48 | Georgia Tech | 63 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duke | 54 | Penn State | 51 | West Virginia | 48 | ||||||||||||||||||
Game log
editDecember 28
2:00pm |
| Wake Forest 57, Georgia Tech 64 | ||
| Scoring by half: 34–30, 23–34 | ||
| Pts: Mason (11) | Pts: Keener (16) | |
No. 1[8]
|
December 28
3:30pm |
| NC State 81, Rhode Island State 64 | ||
| Scoring by half: 47–31, 34–33 | ||
| Pts: Ranzino (33) | Pts: Blount (17) | |
No. 2[9]
|
December 28
7:30pm |
| North Carolina 50, West Virginia 58 | ||
| Scoring by half: 23–32, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: White (15) | Pts: Beach (15) | |
No. 3[10]
|
December 28
9:00pm |
| Duke 48, Penn State 51 | ||
| Scoring by half: 22–22, 26–29 | ||
| Pts: Lamie (16) | Pts: Groat (18) | |
No. 4[11]
|
December 29
2:00pm |
| Wake Forest 57, Rhode Island State 61 | ||
| Scoring by half: 30–36, 27–25 | ||
| Pts: McCotter, Bennett (12) | Pts: Blount (17) | |
No. 5[2]
|
December 29
3:30pm |
| Georgia Tech 34, NC State 57 | ||
| Scoring by half: 21–33, 13–24 | ||
| Pts: Dold (8) | Pts: Ranzino (17) | |
No. 6[2]
|
December 29
7:30pm |
| North Carolina 59, Duke 52 | ||
| Scoring by half: 22–27, 37–25 | ||
| Pts: Tsantes (19) | Pts: Groat (15) | |
December 29
9:00pm |
| West Virginia 41, Penn State 46 | ||
| Scoring by half: 17–17, 24–29 | ||
| Pts: Beach (11) | Pts: Lamie (10) | |
December 30
2:00pm |
| Wake Forest 52, Duke 54 | ||
| Scoring by half: 31–33, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Mueller, Brooks (12) | Pts: Groat (17) | |
December 30
3:30pm |
| Rhode Island State 65, North Carolina 60 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by half: 26–27, 29–28 Overtime: 10–5 | ||
| Pts: Blount (19) | Pts: Kappler (14) | |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "N.C. State Wins Dixie Classic Tournament". Asheville Citizen-Times. Associated Press. December 31, 1949. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e "Wolfpack Crushes Georgia Tech Quint, 57–34". Asheville Citizen-Times. Associated Press. December 30, 1949. p. 21.
- ^ a b "N. C. State Conquers Penn State In Final". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 31, 1949. p. 11. ProQuest 105839909.
- ^ "State's Dickey Named Tourney's Most Valuable". Asheville Citizen-Times. Associated Press. December 31, 1949. p. 9.
- ^ "Photo: 1949 Dixie Classic Program 1". Tar Heel Times. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
- ^ "Pack Opens Bid For Dixie Title". The Charlotte News. Associated Press. December 28, 1949. p. 14.
- ^ Herbert, Dick (September 6, 1949). "The Sports Observer". The News and Observer. p. 13.
- ^ "Tech Topples Deacs, 64–57". Durham Morning Herald. December 29, 1949. p. 14.
- ^ Blackman, Herman (December 29, 1949). "State Tops Rams; Penn State Wins, 51–48". The News and Observer. p. 13.
- ^ "West Virginia Nips Carolina". Durham Morning Herald. December 29, 1949. p. 14.
- ^ Herbert, Dick (December 29, 1949). "Nittany Lions Outlast Blue Devils". The News and Observer. p. 13.
- ^ O'Brien, Frank (December 30, 1949). "Tsantes, Kappler Pace Tar Heels". The News and Observer. p. 14.
- ^ "Penn State Quintet Wins; Reaches Dixie Final by 46–41 Upset of West Virginia". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 30, 1949. p. 22. ProQuest 105840940.
- ^ Brooks, Bob (December 31, 1949). "Deacons Lose To Duke, Win Booby Prize". The News and Observer. p. 9.
- ^ O'Brien, Frank (December 31, 1949). "Rams Top Tar Heels, 65–60". The News and Observer. p. 9.
