In March of 1987, the Duke Blue Devils were riding high. Just a year earlier, Coach Mike Krzyzewski had guided his squad to the ACC Championship Game and cemented Duke as a program on the rise. The pieces were in place, the momentum was real, and Durham was buzzing with belief. But then came NC State — a battered, 17–13 team with nothing to lose and a Hall of Fame showman on the sidelines in Jim Valvano. In the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, the Wolfpack delivered a gut punch to the Blue Devils, stunning them 71–64 in overtime and sparking one of the most improbable title runs in conference history. For Duke, it was a bitter reminder that in March, reputations mean nothing and every game is a fight for survival.
And yet, when the final horn sounded in the ACC quarterfinals, it was the Wolfpack celebrating. In overtime. Against a Duke squad that many thought would roll past them with ease. The 71–64 shocker in Landover, Maryland was more than just an upset — it was the spark that ignited one of the most improbable title runs in ACC history and one of the most frustrating exits in Duke’s tournament history.
The Scene Before the Storm
Duke entered the 1986–87 ACC Tournament with confidence. The program had been steadily climbing under Krzyzewski, recruiting at an elite level and building the kind of hard-nosed, disciplined teams that would eventually define the K era. This was still a couple of years before Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, and Bobby Hurley turned Duke into a national dynasty, but the foundation was there.
Meanwhile, NC State was in turmoil. Jim Valvano — the charismatic, championship-winning coach from 1983 — was dealing with inconsistent play, roster issues, and whispers of off-court distractions. The Wolfpack had been up and down all season, and even loyal fans admitted their team had little chance to make noise in the tournament.
The first matchup seemed straightforward: #3 Duke against an NC State squad that looked out of gas. But tournament basketball rarely plays by the script.
An Overtime Heartbreaker
The game itself was a grind. Duke’s defense was sharp, but NC State matched them possession for possession. Each time the Blue Devils made a push, the Wolfpack answered — often with big shots that silenced the pro-Duke sections in the crowd.
By the time regulation ended, the teams were deadlocked, and suddenly, the weight of the moment shifted. Duke had been here before and usually came out on top, but on this night, NC State wasn’t going away.
In overtime, the Wolfpack seized the momentum. Chris Washburn and Charles Shackleford — two of Valvano’s most polarizing players — delivered timely buckets, while Duke’s offense sputtered. When the final buzzer echoed, the scoreboard read 71–64. The Blue Devils were out, and the Wolfpack had pulled off the first step in what would become a legendary tournament run.
The Wolfpack’s Wild Ride
The upset over Duke lit a fire under NC State. They went on to stun #7 Wake Forest in a double-overtime semifinal and then edged #1 North Carolina 68–67 in a thrilling final. From near irrelevance to ACC champions in three days, Valvano’s squad had turned the conference upside down.
For Duke, it was a tough pill to swallow. Not only had they been bounced earlier than expected, but they had to watch two of their fiercest rivals — NC State and UNC — battle for the crown.
A Turning Point for Both Programs
In the big picture, the 1987 ACC Tournament was a strange moment in time. For Duke, it was a reminder that no amount of talent or momentum guarantees March success. But it was also a stepping stone — the kind of setback that fuels growth. Within two years, the Blue Devils were back in the ACC Championship Game, and within four, they were winning national titles.
For NC State, the victory over Duke and the championship run turned out to be the last great chapter of the Valvano era. Just a few years later, off-court controversies and the fallout from Peter Golenbock’s Personal Fouls book ended his tenure. That overtime win against Duke was, in many ways, his final signature moment.
Why Duke Fans Still Remember
Ask long-time Duke fans about the 1987 ACC Tournament, and they’ll tell you it’s one of those “should have been ours” years. The loss didn’t derail the program’s trajectory — if anything, it sharpened it — but it stung because the opportunity was there. Duke was a better team on paper, but March basketball isn’t about paper.
In hindsight, that game serves as a perfect lesson in the unpredictability of the postseason. Even the most disciplined, talented teams can be tripped up if they underestimate an opponent or fail to match their energy. It’s a truth Duke has lived on both ends of — delivering crushing upsets and occasionally being on the receiving end of them.
Legacy of a Loss
Today, the 1987 quarterfinal loss to NC State sits in Duke history as both a warning and a motivator. It’s a reminder that the program’s greatness was built not just on championships but also on the lessons learned from defeats like this one. And for NC State, it’s a cherished memory of the time they took down the rising Blue Devil empire on their way to a miracle ACC title.
In the end, it’s part of what makes ACC basketball so compelling: every March, every team, every game — no matter the records — has the potential to create a moment that will be remembered for decades. And in 1987, Duke learned that lesson the hard way.
