| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 1973–74 |
| Prev Year: | 1972–73 |
| Next Year: | 1974–75 |
| Team: | North Carolina State Wolfpack |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Coachrank: | 1 |
| Aprank: | 1 |
| Record: | 30–1 |
| Conf Record: | 12–0 |
| Head Coach: | Norm Sloan |
| Hc Year: | 8th |
| Asst Coach1: | Ed Biedenbach |
| Asst Coach2: | Sam Esposito |
| Asst Coach3: | Art Musselman |
| Captain: | Game captains |
| Stadium: | Reynolds Coliseum |
| Champion: | NCAA tournament National Champions ACC tournament champions ACC regular season champions |
| Bowl: | National Championship Game |
| Bowl Result: | W 76-64 vs. Marquette |
The 1973–74 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 1973-74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolfpack played their home games at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, and competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. While losing only one game throughout the season, the team finished undefeated in the ACC conference play, and went on to win the 1974 ACC men's basketball title. The Wolfpack then won the NCAA tournament, finishing the season as the national champions.
NC State had several highly rated players, including star high-jumping forward David Thompson, 7-foot-4 center Tom Burleson, point guard Monte Towe, and several complementary players, including guard Moe Rivers and forward Phil Spence. The Wolfpack began the season ranked #2 in the nation, behind John Wooden's UCLA. On December 15, 1973, the two top-ranked teams met in St. Louis, with UCLA beating NC State by 84–66 after trailing by one at halftime. It would be the only loss for the Wolfpack that season. NC State later met and defeated the Bruins 80–77 in two overtimes in the NCAA tournament semi-final game, ending UCLA's streak of seven straight national championships. Two nights later, NC State won its first NCAA championship by beating Marquette, 76–64.
|-!colspan=12 style="background:#;"| Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style="background:#;"| ACC tournament|-!colspan=12 style="background:#;"| NCAA tournament
See main article: 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
The 1974 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Coliseum from March 7 to 9. NC State defeated Maryland 103–100 in overtime to claim the championship.
The final featured two of the top teams in the country. It has been regarded by many to be the greatest ACC game in histo — and one of the greatest college games ever. The game was instrumental in forcing the expansion of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship to 32 teams, allowing more than one bid from a conference.
| 1974 NCAA tournament championship Game Box Score | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Min | FG | FT | REB | AST | PF | PTS | |
| D. Thompson | 40 | 7–12 | 7–8 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 21 | |
| M. Towe | 37 | 5–10 | 6–7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | |
| T. Burleson | 36 | 6–9 | 2–6 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 14 | |
| M. Rivers | 40 | 4–9 | 6–9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 | |
| T. Stoddard | 25 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 | |
| P. Spence | 19 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| M. Moeller | 3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 26–46 | 24–34 | 34 | 14 | 17 | 76 |
| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Seattle SuperSonics | |