< ! -- Commented out : North Carolina began their 1956 &ndash; 57 campaign with three straight victories by a wide margin of victory . In their fourth game , the Tar Heels traveled Columbia , South Carolina , to play against South Carolina , where the Gamecocks took the Tar Heels to overtime before North Carolina was able to come away with the victory by four points . Near the end of December , the Tar Heels participated in the annual Dixie Classic The Tar Heels won the classic , and also remained undefeated , after beating Wake Forest in the championship game . North Carolina then won five more games before going into double overtime against Maryland and winning the game 65 &ndash; 61 to earn their seventeenth consecutive victory . In the following game , Duke and North Carolina were tied at 73 &ndash; 73 before Tar Heel Kearns sank two free throws to give North Carolina a two-point lead before the game ended . The Tar Heels closed out the regular season with six more victories to end the season with a record of 24 &ndash; 0 . North Carolina won their quarterfinal match &ndash; up in the ACC Tournament by twenty points to advance to the semifinals against Wake Forest . The Demon Deacons were ahead 59 &ndash; 58 as the game entered the final minute . With time running out , Rosenbluth made a two-point shot and was fouled in the act of shooting , which sent him to the line to shoot a free throw ; he made the free throw and the Tar Heels won 61 &ndash; 59 . The Tar Heels then beat South Carolina in the championship to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament
ACC Tournament
1957 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game