1961 ACC men's basketball tournament
| 1961 ACC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 1960–61 |
| Teams | 7 |
| Site | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Champions | Wake Forest (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Bones McKinney (1st title) |
| MVP | Len Chappell (Wake Forest) |
The 1961 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held in Raleigh, North Carolina, at Reynolds Coliseum from March 2–4, 1961. Wake Forest defeated Duke, 96–81, to win the championship.[1] Len Chappell of Wake Forest was named tournament MVP.
North Carolina did not participate because the program was on NCAA probation. As a result, top seed Wake Forest received a first-round bye. The only other times an ACC team opted out of the tournament were Maryland in 1991, Syracuse in 2015, and Louisville in 2016 for similar reasons.
Bracket
| Quarterfinals March 2 | Semifinals March 3 | Championship Game March 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Wake Forest | 98 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Maryland | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Maryland | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Clemson | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Wake Forest | 96 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | #9 Duke | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | #9 Duke | 89 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Virginia | 54 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | #9 Duke | 92 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | South Carolina | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | NC State | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | South Carolina | 80 | ||||||||||||
References
- ^ Schoolfield, Hank (March 5, 1961). "Len Chappell Powers Wake Forest to 96-81 Win, ACC Championship". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 19. Retrieved March 2, 2026.