The ice is broken. Miami has its chance. The first of the ACC's three most recent expansion schools - those already in the league, that is - gets a chance to play on the same day as the Super Bowl.
Boston College, once home to the New England Patriots, remains on the sidelines, along with Virginia Tech. (Pittsburgh, one of two ACC players to be named later along with Syracuse, hosts Villanova at 2 PM on Super Bowl Sunday.)
ACC action has served as hors d'oeuvre for pro football's championship game since 1973. With 30-second ads during the Super Bowl costing $3.5 million to air, the advertising association is invaluable for the conference.
The ACC's inaugural Super Bowl Sunday appearance, nationally televised in those pre-cable days, featured second-ranked Maryland and third-ranked N.C. State. The contest was close, well-played, and heralded the national arrival of David "Skywalker" Thompson, the greatest player in ACC history.
The Wolfpack's 87-85 victory was secured when the 6-4 Thompson soared above Terp big men Tom McMillen and Len Elmore to tip in a missed shot at the buzzer.
N.C. State went on to a 57-1 record over the 1973 and 1974 seasons, capped by the school's first NCAA championship. The ACC proceeded to make its pairing with the Super Bowl a virtually annual practice.
This year Miami visits Duke as prelude to football's Roman Numeral Extravaganza. While the Hurricanes blow in as a Super Bowl newcomer, the Blue Devils are making their seventh appearance on America's unofficial sports holiday.
Considering its competitive pedigree, it's odd Duke has appeared prior to fewer Super Bowls than N.C. State (15), UNC (14), Maryland (11), Wake Forest (9), and Florida State (8), and as many times as Georgia Tech and Virginia.
Overall, of the ACC's original members only Clemson has appeared less often. Duke played on Super Bowl Sunday just twice between 1973, when the ACC made the linkage, and 1995, after the Blue Devils finished a run of seven Final Fours in nine years.
Half of Duke's previous six appearances have coincided with Super Bowl berths for the Pittsburgh Steelers, most recently in 2009. Pittsburgh won on two of those occasions.
Otherwise, being preceded by an ACC game involving Mike Krzyzewski's club does not bode well for Bill Belichick's Patriots - other AFC teams besides the Steelers are 0-3 when Duke plays. New England is 0-1, defeated by Green Bay in 1997.
Last year Florida State visited Chapel Hill on the Big Day, and watched Tar Heel playmaker Kendall Marshall enjoy a memorable coming-out party in a 20-point triumph.
Gone was problematic point guard Larry Drew II, leaving the freshman alone at UNC's helm. Marshall, who received the biggest ovation in pregame introductions, delivered in spectacular fashion. He recorded 16 assists, one more than FSU and the most by a Heel since Raymond Felton had 18 as a sophomore in December 2003. Felton's total stands as the school's modern single-game record.
"I thought he was sensational," pleased North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Marshall.
"He did a tremendous job controlling the tempo of the game," agreed Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton. "We couldn't speed him up. We had a hard time with that."
No kidding. The Virginian helped the Heels shred the supposed stout FSU defense for 89 points, the most scored against Hamilton's squad all season. Their 55.7 percent shooting accuracy also surpassed any other opponent against FSU, which led Division I in field goal percentage defense.
Four Heels scored in double figures: Harrison Barnes (17), Tyler Zeller and John Henson (16 each), and Dexter Strickland (15). The team's 89 points topped North Carolina's 13 previous efforts on a Super Bowl Sunday.
SUPER SUNDAY ACC Records When Playing Same Day As Super Bowl |
||
Team | W-L | W Pct. |
Boston College | 0-0 | .000 |
Clemson | 0-2 | .000 |
Duke | 4-2 | .667 |
Florida State | 3-5 | .375 |
Georgia Tech | 2-5 | .286 |
Maryland | 5-6 | .455 |
Miami | 0-0 | .000 |
North Carolina | 9-5 | .643 |
N.C. State | 10-5 | .667 |
Virginia | 4-3 | .571 |
Virginia Tech | 0-0 | .000 |
Wake Forest | 3-6 | .333 |
Date | Super Bowl Result | Basketball Result |
2/5/12 | New England vs. N.Y. Giants | Miami @ Duke, 3 PM |
2/6/11 | Green Bay 31-Pittsburgh 25 | North Carolina 89-Florida State 69 |
2/7/10 | New Orleans 31-Indianapolis 17 | Maryland 92-North Carolina 71 |
2/1/09 | Pittsburgh 27-Arizona 23 | Duke 67-Virginia 49 |
2/3/08 | N.Y. Giants 17-New England 14 | Â N.C. State 67-Wake Forest 65 |
North Carolina 84-Florida State 73 (OT) | ||
2/4/07 | Indianapolis 29-Chicago 17 | Florida State 68-Duke 67 |
2/5/06 | Pittsburgh 21-Seattle 10 | N.C. State 62-Maryland 58 |
2/6/05 | New England 24-Philadelphia 21 | North Carolina 81-Florida State 60 |
2/1/04 | New England 32-Carolina 29 | N.C. State 81-Maryland 69 |
Florida State 88-Savannah State 73 | ||
1/26/03 | Tampa Bay 48-Oakland 21 | Wake Forest 71-Florida State 60 |
N.C. State 86-North Carolina 77 | ||
2/3/02 | New England 20-St. Louis 17 | Maryland 89-N.C. State 73 |
Missouri 81-Virginia 77 | ||
1/28/01 | Baltimore 34-N.Y. Giants 7 | North Carolina 60-N.C. State 52 |
1/30/00 | St. Louis 23-Tennessee 16 | Virginia 76-Wake Forest 67 |
1/31/99 | Denver 34-Atlanta 19 | Wake Forest 85-Maryland 72 |
North Carolina 75-Georgia Tech 66 | ||
1/25/98 | Denver 31-Green Bay 24 | Wake Forest 74-Missouri 65 |
N.C. State 56-Georgia Tech 51 | ||
1/26/97 | Green Bay 35-New England 21 | North Carolina 61-Clemson 48 |
Maryland 74-Duke 70 | ||
1/28/96 | Dallas 27-Pittsburgh 17 | Duke 83-Maryland 73 |
Connecticut 76-Virginia 46 | ||
1/29/95 | San Fran 49-San Diego 26 | Georgia Tech 81-Florida State 68 |
1/30/94 | Dallas 30-Buffalo 13 | North Carolina 85-Wake Forest 61 |
1/31/93 | Dallas 52-Buffalo 17 | N.C. State 72-Clemson 70 |
Florida State 96-Georgia Tech 77 | ||
1/26/92 | Washington 37-Buffalo 24 | NO ACC ACTION |
1/27/91 | N.Y. Giants 20-Buffalo 19 | Georgia Tech 88-North Carolina 86 |
1/28/90 | San Fran 55-Denver 10 | Virginia 71-Wake Forest 70 (OT) |
Duke 88-Georgia Tech 86 | ||
1/22/89 | San Fran 20-Cincinnati 16 | Illinois 103-Ga. Tech 92 (2OT) |
1/31/88 | Washington 42-Denver 20 | N.C. State 71-DePaul 66 |
1/25/87 | N.Y. Giants 39-Denver 20 | Kansas 74-N.C. State 60 |
1/26/86 | Chicago 46-New England 10 | North Carolina 73-Notre Dame 61 |
1/30/83 | Washington 27-Miami 17 | Arkansas 68-Wake Forest 65 |
1/24/82 | San Fran 26-Cincinnati 21 | Virginia 74-Louisville 56 |
1/25/81 | Oakland 27-Philadelphia 10 | Virginia 89-Ohio State 73 |
1/20/80 | Pittsburgh 31-L.A. Rams 19 | Maryland 92-North Carolina 86 |
1/21/79 | Pittsburgh 35-Dallas 31 | Duke 75-N.C. State 69 |
1/15/78 | Dallas 27-Denver 10 | North Carolina 71-Wake Forest 69 |
1/9/77 | Oakland 32-Minnesota 14 | Maryland 87-N.C. State 80 |
1/18/76 | Pittsburgh 21-Dallas 17 | N.C. State 68-North Carolina 67 |
1/13/74 | Miami 24-Minnesota | N.C. State 80-Maryland 74 |
1/14/73 | Miami 14-Washington 7 | N.C. State 87-Maryland 85 |
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