NC State basketball has history of playing well when it snows in Raleigh
As it turns out, one of the best times to bet on NC State basketball (figuratively, not literally) is when there is snow on the ground.
Since the end of the World War II, the Wolfpack has a remarkable 21-5 record in home games in which there is more than an inch of snow in Raleigh, a .808 winning percentage that improved Saturday with a 77-63 victory over Virginia at PNC Arena, just after some three inches of snow fell on the capital city overnight.
It’s one of those happenstance statistics, of course. No one is suggesting that, historically, NC State basketball plays harder or better or has some sort of advantage with white stuff on the ground. It’s just something that exists in provable reality.
And it gives good reason to look back at some of those memorable games.
Like the March 1, 1969, win over No. 8 South Carolina, when nearly 10 inches of snow surrounded Reynolds Coliseum, and Gamecock point guard Bobby Cremins fouled out trying to stop NC State guard Vann Williford, who was five inches taller than the future Georgia Tech head coach.
Or the Feb. 15, 1958 win over Maryland, when three inches of snow fell in Raleigh and a heavy hand of authority fell on the Wolfpack just hours before the game. NC State senior guard and team captain Whitey Bell, the Wolfpack’s leading scorer, and reserve guard Harold Estis, a sophomore reserve, were expelled from school by a faculty academic committee. With 11:30 remaining in the game, head coach Everett Case’s team was down by 15 points, but was carried down the stretch by guard Lou Pucillo, the only State starter still on the court when the game ended.
Or the Feb. 15, 2004 game when coach Herb Sendek and ACC Player of the Year Julius Hodge upended top-ranked Duke, one of State’s half-dozen all-time wins over the nation’s No. 1 team. While Marcus Melvin had a game-high 18 points for NC State, Hodge hit the final two of State’s 12 consecutive free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
There could also be snowy games against the Wolfpack’s next two opponents, Notre Dame on Wednesday and North Carolina on Saturday. Both of those games, however, are on the road, with possibly some snow on the ground at both places.
Not surprisingly, one of the more interesting snow games was against the Tar Heels. The state’s biggest historic rivals have met four times at either Reynolds Coliseum or the current arena for NC State in wintry weather — in 1968, 1978, 1982 and 1996.
In particular, the Feb. 23, 1978 game at Reynolds was a wild one on a day that began with nearly six inches of snow on the ground and a low temperature of seven degrees.
It was a weird time in the state’s basketball history. The ACC office banned all officials who regularly called conference games from working the ACC tournament in Greensboro. (Really.) The Chicago Bulls were looking to hire East Carolina head coach Larry Gillman. (Really.) NC State basketball coach Norm Sloan was being nice to the media. (Really.)
Then, weirdest of all, when coach Dean Smith and the Tar Heels showed up to play the Wolfpack in sold-out Reynolds, not only was there lingering snow, Carolina All-America point guard Phil Ford walked out to the court before tipoff wearing a three-piece suit, kept out of the game because of a wrist injury he suffered in the contest before.
He sat beside Mike O’Koren, the Tar Heels’ other leading scorer who was also nursing an injury.
The two absences didn’t just give the unranked Wolfpack a chance against the No. 8 Tar Heels, it put heavy pressure on Sloan’s team to win.
“I knew if we lost, people would think we were no good,” said slippery NC State point guard Clyde Austin.
The media had declared that earlier in the season when it put the Wolfpack last in its preseason poll, something that made Sloan chuckle. Of course, there was good reason for that. Star Kenny Carr left with a year of eligibility remaining for the NBA, becoming the first Wolfpack player to declare hardship. Twin guards Steve and Brian Walker transferred to Purdue. Al Green left for LSU and Dirk Ewing transferred to Stetson.
So when NC State beat the Tar Heels, 72-67, it claimed third place in the ACC standings and made Sloan a viable candidate for ACC Coach of the Year. North Carolina won the regular-season championship by beating Duke, three days later with Ford and O’Koren in the lineup, but the Blue Devils won the tournament and then played for the national championship against Kentucky.
NC State lost in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, a triple-overtime contest against Maryland that is still the longest and highest-scoring game in tournament history, 109-108.
The confident Pack didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, but it breezed through the first three rounds of National Invitation Tournament and played against Texas for the NIT championship. Like Duke, it fell short, losing in the title game 101-93 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
NC State basketball snow games in Raleigh (more than one inch)
| Date | Opponent | Result | Snow (in inches) |
| Feb. 9, 1951 | Duke | W, 75-65 | 1.18 |
| Feb. 26, 1952 | Wake Forest | W, 65-51 | 3.50 |
| Jan. 23, 1954 | No. 19 La Salle | L, 88-78 | 5.27 (Jan. 22-23) |
| Feb. 15, 1958 | No. 9 Maryland | W, 69-64 (3OT) | 2.99 |
| Feb. 13, 1960 | Maryland | W, 48-46 | 4.69 |
| Jan. 19, 1962 | Maryland | W, 68-61 | 1.61 |
| Jan. 16, 1965 | Maryland | W, 72-67 | 3.70 |
| Jan. 30, 1965 | Virginia | W, 92-69 | 3.94 (Jan. 30-31) |
| Jan. 10, 1968 | No. 3 UNC | L, 68-66 | 1.61 (Jan. 10-11) |
| March 1, 1969 | No. 8 South Carolina | W, 67-64 | 9.29 |
| Dec. 4, 1971 | Georgia | W, 92-81 | 3.70 (Dec. 3-4) |
| Feb. 19, 1972 | Wake Forest | W, 84-76 | 1.42 (Feb. 18-19) |
| Dec. 17, 1973 | Georgia | W, 94-60 | 1.69 |
| Feb. 23, 1978 | No. 8 UNC | W, 72-67 | 5.59 (Feb. 21-22) |
| Feb. 7, 1979 | No. 1 Notre Dame | L, 53-52 | 5.31 (Feb. 6-7) |
| Jan. 13, 1982 | No. 1 UNC | L, 61-41 | 5.98 (Jan. 13-14) |
| Feb. 16, 1987 | Brooklyn College | W, 107-79 | 5.00 (Feb. 16-17) |
| Dec. 7, 1989 | Duquesne | W, 126-72 | 2.02 (Dec. 7-9) |
| Feb. 3, 1996 | No. 8 UNC | W, 78-75 | 2.47 (Feb. 2-4) |
| Dec. 4, 2002 | Northwestern | W, 74-47 | 2.28 |
| Jan. 16, 2003 | Boston College | L, 93-81 | 1.18 |
| Feb. 15, 2004 | No. 1 Duke | W, 78-74 | 2.72 (Feb. 15-17) |
| Jan. 30, 2010 | NC Central | W, 77-42 | 5.00 (Jan. 29-30) |
| Jan. 29, 2014 | Florida State | W, 74-70 | 1.38 (Jan. 28-29) |
| Jan. 18, 2018 | Wake Forest | W, 72-67 | 6.11 (Jan. 17-18) |
| Jan. 22, 2022 | Virginia | W, 77-63 | 3.10 (Jan. 21-22) |
Snow games with a dusting (1.0 inch or less)
| Date | Opponent | Result | Snow in inches |
| Dec. 28, 1950 | Tulane | W, 89-75 | 0.31 |
| Feb. 1, 1958 | Clemson | W, 56-54 | 0.91 |
| March 3 1960 | Maryland | W, 74-58 | 0.59 |
| Feb. 8, 1964 | Clemson | L, 66-55 | 0.98 |
| Dec. 29, 1970 | Santa Clara | W, 82-79 | 0.51 |
| Feb. 27, 1982 | No. 18 Wake Forest | L, 50-46 | 0.59 |
| Feb. 15, 1986 | No. 2 Duke | L, 72-70 | 0.93 (Feb. 14-15) |
| Dec. 19, 1989 | East Tennessee State | L, 92-82 | 0.16 |
| Dec. 31, 1997 | Morehead State | W, 63-41 | 0.12 |
| Jan. 22, 2000 | Georgia Tech | W, 66-58 | 0.12 |
| Dec. 16, 2010 | Youngstown State | W, 67-50 | 0.39 |
| Feb. 16, 2013 | Virginia Tech | W, 90-86 (OT) | 0.71 |
Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].
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