Ford averaged 18.7 points and 6.6 assists per game while once again leading the Tar Heels to a first-place ACC regular season finish. In the 1977 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, Ford scored 26 points in the championship game against the University of Virginia to propel UNC to another conference title. In the 1977 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, Ford helped advance the Tar Heels into the Final Four and all the way to the NCAA Championship Game, despite hyperextending his shooting elbow in the regional semifinal game against the University of Notre Dame. Ford was named a consensus first-team All-American at the end of the season.