People today would have a hard time believing it, but for most of the 1970’s, UNC, NC State and Maryland were the dominant teams in the ACC.
It was a seven-league team then which also featured Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia and Clemson. Georgia Tech had joined but would not play until 1979.
Dean Smith was 18 years in at UNC and had built a dynasty. Norm Sloan had won the ACC’s second national championship in 1974 and while Lefty Driesell had not exactly made Maryland into the UCLA of the East that he had promised, it was undeniably good and entertaining.