The Wolfpack played their home games at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, and competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

NC State had several highly rated players, including star high-jumping forward David Thompson, 7-foot-4 center Tom Burleson, point guard Monte Towe, and several complementary players, including guard Moe Rivers and forward Phil Spence.

On December 15, 1973, the two top-ranked teams met in St. Louis, with UCLA beating NC State by 84–66 after trailing by one at halftime.

NC State later met and defeated the Bruins 80–77 in two overtimes in the NCAA tournament semi-final game, ending UCLA's streak of seven straight national championships.

[citation needed] The game was instrumental in forcing the expansion of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship to 32 teams, allowing more than one bid from a conference.