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University of North Carolina Athletics
Coke Classics - Men's Basketball National Championships
February 11, 2004 | Men's Basketball
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 Lenny Rosenbluth guards Wilt Chamberlain in the 1957 national championship game.  |
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attle-torn and weary, the Tar Heels faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge as they headed into the third overtime period against Kansas in the national championship game.
Having already taken three overtime periods to defeat Michigan State in the semifinals, the Tar Heels found themselves without national player of the year Lennie Rosenbluth, who had fouled out in the waning moments of regulation. They were playing a Kansas team led by Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain in the not so friendly confines of Kansas City, Mo.
The Tar Heels fought on without Rosenbluth and found themselves behind by one point in the final seconds of the third overtime. After a missed shot, the ball landed in the hands of junior center Joe Quigg near the top of the key. All that stood between him and the national title was Chamberlain.
Quigg drove the lane, drawing a foul from Chamberlain with six seconds remaining. After a Carolina time out, Quigg, a 72 percent free throw shooter, calmly stepped to the line and drained both shots, securing a 54-53 victory and Carolina's second national championship. Carolina finished the season a perfect 32-0 en route to the Tar Heels' first NCAA championship.
Rosenbluth had 20 points and five rebounds in the championship game and Quigg scored 10 points and garnered nine rebounds.
Carolina had its fair share of overtime experience entering the Final Four, securing an overtime victory over South Carolina and a double overtime victory over Maryland in the regular season.
That experience may have been the difference as the Tar Heels continually came through with clutch plays throughout the Final Four. In the semifinal, neither team was able to open more than a six-point lead as Michigan State tested Carolina's mettle throughout the game.
Junior forward Pete Brennan kept Carolina's championship hopes alive when he nailed a baseline jumper with three seconds remaining in the first overtime to extend the game to another period. Both teams struggled in the second overtime, scoring only one bucket each. Carolina finally pulled away in the third overtime period scoring the first six points and holding on to a 74-70 victory.
Rosenbluth was the star of the 1957 squad. His 27 points and 8.6 rebounds a game in regular season play led the Tar Heels to the ACC championship and the NCAA tournament berth. Three of the victories came over fellow Big Four and ACC team Wake Forest, with whom Carolina had developed an intense rivalry.
At the end of his senior season, Rosenbluth held on to every major Carolina basketball record except for free-throw percentage and total rebounds in a season.
The championship season was Carolina's only trip to the Final Four under the tutelage of Frank McGuire, who left in 1961 to coach in the NBA. He later went on to coach at South Carolina. In nine years, McGuire led the Tar Heels to three Top 10 finishes and six Top 20 finishes.
The next Final Four appearance for the Tar Heels came under McGuire's replacement, Dean Smith, who began his Final Four legacy in 1967.
