1949 Dixie Classic Explained

Type:Dixie
Gender:Men's
Year:1949
Season:1950
Teams:8
Finalfourarena:Reynolds Coliseum
Finalfourcity:Raleigh, North Carolina
Champions:NC State
Titlecount:1st
Runnerup:Penn State
Gamecount:1st
Coach:Everett Case
Coachcount:1st
Mop:Dick Dickey
Mopteam:NC State
Attendance:54,400

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.

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. 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. Dick Dickey of NC State was voted most valuable player of the tournament.[1]

Teams

Each 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:[2] [3]

The first round pairings were decided by drawing names from a hat on September 5, 1949.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: State's Dickey Named Tourney's Most Valuable . Asheville Citizen-Times . Associated Press . 31 December 1949 . 9 . en.
  2. Web site: Photo: 1949 Dixie Classic Program 1 . Tar Heel Times . 4 Feb 2023 . en.
  3. News: Pack Opens Bid For Dixie Title . The Charlotte News . Associated Press . 28 December 1949 . 14 . en.
  4. News: Herbert . Dick . The Sports Observer . The News and Observer . 6 September 1949 . 13 . en.