1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:1992–93
Team:North Carolina Tar Heels
Conference:Atlantic Coast Conference
Short Conf:ACC
Coachrank:1
Aprank:4
Record:34–4
Conf Record:14–2, 1st
Hc Year:32nd
Ac1 Year:26th
Ac2 Year:5th
Asst Coach3:Dave Hanners
Ac3 Year:4th
Champion:NCAA tournament National Champions
ACC regular season champions
Bowl Result:
W 77-71 vs. Michigan

The 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1992-93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 34–4 overall, won the ACC regular season title with a 14–2 record and won the 1993 national championship. They were coached by Dean Smith, who won his second national championship in his thirty-second season as head coach of the Tar Heels. They played their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Season summary

The 1992–93 team was led by George Lynch, Eric Montross, Brian Reese, Donald Williams, and Derrick Phelps. The Tar Heels started out with an 8–0 record and were ranked #5 in the country when they met #6 Michigan in the semi-finals of the Rainbow Classic. The Wolverines, led by the Fab Five in their sophomore season, won 79–78 to on a last-second shot. North Carolina bounced back with nine straight wins before losing back-to-back road games against unranked Wake Forest and #5 Duke. After seven more straight wins, the Tar Heels were ranked #1 heading into the last week of the regular season (their first #1 ranking since the start of the 1987–88 season). North Carolina beat #14 Wake Forest and #6 Duke to close out the regular season and clinch the top seed in the ACC tournament. North Carolina reached the tournament final, but they lost 77–75 to Georgia Tech without Derrick Phelps who was injured. Nonetheless, North Carolina was awarded the top seed in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, defeating #16-seed East Carolina (85–65), #8-seed Rhode Island (112–67), #4-seed Arkansas (80–74), and #2-seed Cincinnati (75–68) to reach the final four in New Orleans.

In the national semi-finals, Smith's Tar Heels defeated his alma mater Kansas (coached by future North Carolina coach Roy Williams) 78–68, setting up a rematch with #3-ranked Michigan in the finals.

The national title game was a see-saw battle throughout, but is remembered best for Chris Webber's time out call with seconds left when Michigan didn't have any. Michigan was assessed a technical foul and North Carolina ended up winning 77–71, giving Smith his second national championship.[1]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9| ACC tournament|-!colspan=9| NCAA tournament[2] [3]

Awards and honors

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 12 George LynchLos Angeles Lakers[5]
1 9 Eric MontrossBoston Celtics[6]

Kevin Salvadori,[7] Matt Wenstrom[8] and Derrick Phelps[9] also went on to play in the NBA, but were undrafted.

Notes and References

  1. News: THM: Looking Back At 1993 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071117134154/http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/033003aaa.html . dead . 2007-11-17 . Tar Heel Monthly . Adam Lucas . 2007-08-08 . 2003-03-30 .
  2. http://www.goheels.com/fls/3350/pdf/MBB2015/RecordBook2014-15.pdf?SPID=12965&DB_OEM_ID=3350 2014-15 North Carolina men's basketball record book
  3. http://www.bbstate.com/teams/UNC/schedule/93 BB State
  4. Web site: Final Four Most Outstanding Players . cbs.sportsline.com . 31 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907123518/http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history/outstandingplayer . 7 September 2008 .
  5. https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1993.html 1993 NBA draft
  6. https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html 1994 NBA draft
  7. s/salvake01. Kevin Salvadori.
  8. p/wenstma01. Matt Wenstrom.
  9. p/phelpde01. Derrick Phelps.