Big Four Tournament

Big Four Tournament
Sport	Basketball
Founded	1971
Folded	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

^[4]

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

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Media related to Big Four Tournament at Wikimedia Commons

NCAA men's college basketball tournaments

Division I

Early season	Acrisure Series Arizona Tip-Off Bahamas Championship Battle 4 Atlantis Big 5 Classic Boardwalk Battle Cancún Challenge Cayman Islands Classic Charleston Classic Coconut Hoops Diamond Head Classic Empire Classic Emerald Coast Classic ESPN Events Invitational Fort Myers Tip-Off Greenbrier Tip-Off Hall of Fame Tip-Off Jacksonville Classic Legends Classic Maui Invitational Nassau Championship NIT Season Tip-Off Paradise Jam Phil Knight Invitational Players Era Festival Rady Children's Invitational Sunshine Slam Vegas Showdown
Defunct Early season	All-College Basketball Classic Asheville Championship Belfast Classic Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Continental Tire Main Event Corpus Christi Coastal Classic Crossover Classic DirecTV Classic Great Alaska Shootout Global Sports Classic Jamaica Classic Las Vegas Classic Las Vegas Invitational Myrtle Beach Invitational Northern Classic Puerto Rico Tip-Off Savannah Invitational SoCal Challenge Southland Basketball Tip-Off Vancouver Showcase
Conference postseason	ACC America East American Atlantic Sun Atlantic 10 Big 12 Big East Big Sky Big South Big Ten Big West CAA Conference USA Horizon Ivy MEAC Metro Mid-American Missouri Valley Mountain West Northeast Ohio Valley Pac-12 (on hiatus until 2027) Patriot SEC Southern Southland SWAC Sun Belt Summit UAC West Coast
Defunct Conference postseason	American South American West Big Eight East Coast ECAC Tournaments Great Midwest Great West Metro (1975–1995) Southwest
Postseason	NCAA Division I Tournament National Invitation Tournament College Basketball Invitational College Basketball Crown
Defunct Postseason	The Basketball Classic Vegas 16 National Commissioners Invitational Tournament National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

Division II

Conference postseason	CCAA CACC Carolinas East Coast Great American GLIAC GLVC G-MAC Great Northwest Gulf South Lone Star Mountain East Northeast-10 Northern Sun Pacific West Peach Belt PSAC RMAC South Atlantic SIAC Sunshine State
Defunct Conference postseason	ECAC Tournament Heartland
Postseason	NCAA Division II Tournament

Division III

Conference postseason	Allegheny Mountain American Rivers American Southwest Atlantic East C2C Centennial CUNYAC CCIW CCS CNE Empire 8 Great Northeast HCAC Landmark Liberty Little East MASCAC Michigan Middle Atlantic (MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom) Midwest Minnesota NESCAC NEWMAC New Jersey North Atlantic NACC NCAC Northwest Ohio Old Dominion Presidents' SAA SCIAC SLIAC Skyline SCAC SUNYAC United East Upper Midwest USA South Wisconsin
Defunct Conference postseason	ACAA Colonial States NECC
Postseason	NCAA Division III Tournament ECAC Tournaments

"Tobacco Road" teams

v t e Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
Venues	The Ark (1906–1923) Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1930) Card Gymnasium (1930–1939) Cameron Indoor Stadium (1940–present)
Rivalries	Maryland Michigan North Carolina (Carlyle Cup)
Culture & lore	Blue Devil Blue blood status Cameron Crazies Champions Classic Dixie Classic / Big Four I Hate Christian Laettner Krzyzewskiville "The Shot" Tobacco Road 1991 UNLV game 2019 Stephen F. Austin game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
Venues	Thompson Gym (1925–1949) Reynolds Coliseum (1949–1999) Lenovo Center (1999–present)
Rivalries	East Carolina North Carolina Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Dixie Classic / Big Four Tobacco Road 1961 gambling scandal 2018 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
Venues	Bynum Gymnasium (1910–1923) Tin Can (1924–1938) Woollen Gymnasium (1938–1965) Carmichael Auditorium (1965–1986) Dean Smith Center (1986–present)
Rivalries	Duke (Carlyle Cup) Kentucky NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Junior varsity team Inside Carolina Four corners offense Blue blood status Dixie Classic / Big Four Jumpman Invitational Tobacco Road Academic-athletic scandal Gambling scandal
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Helms national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball
Venues	Gore Gymnasium (1935–1956) Winston-Salem War Memorial Coliseum (1956–1989) Greensboro Coliseum (alternate; 1959–1989) Reynolds Gymnasium (alternate; 1956–1989) LJVM Coliseum (1989–present)
Rivalries	North Carolina NC State
Culture & lore	Demon Deacon Tobacco Road Dixie Classic / Big Four
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics