NCAA Basketball: North Carolina the worst preseason No. 1 team of all time

9. 1974-75 NC State

When NC State was ranked atop the preseason poll, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to the college basketball world. Norm Sloan’s team had won the national title just a few months earlier and still had David Thompson, one of the best basketball players in the world. In fact, the Wolfpack had gone an astounding 57-1 in their last two seasons with Thompson on the floor and expectations were sky-high for the future NBA star’s senior season in Raleigh.

This season saw Thompson average 29.9 points and 8.2 rebounds a game en route to a second straight year winning AP Player of the Year, as well as a bevy of other awards. But Thompson was far from the only talented member of that Wolfpack squad. Junior forward Phil Spence averaged a double-double while freshman Kenny Carr had 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his first collegiate campaign. Fellow contributors included Morris River and Monte Towe, who both averaged double-digit points per game and helmed the backcourt for this high-powered team.

The unfortunate news for NC State is that their season just didn’t go the way they expected. After just one loss the previous two seasons, the Wolfpack had already suffered five by the end of the regular season, including a sweep at the hands of Maryland. After falling to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, the Wolfpack were actually left out of the NCAA Tournament, then limited to just 32 teams and rarely including multiple teams from a conference. Thompson’s legendary career came to an end without a chance to repeat their title.