# 1976–77 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1976–77 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tar Heels were coached by Dean Smith in his 16th season at North Carolina. They played their home games in Carmichael Auditorium as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–5, 9–3 in ACC play to win the ACC regular season championship. They defeated NC State and Virginia to win the ACC Tournament. As a result, the received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. There, they defeated Purdue, Notre Dame, and Kentucky to advance to the Final Four. At the Final Four, they defeated UNLV before losing to Marquette in the National Championship game.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 26* | No. 3 | vs. No. 15 NC State Big Four Tournament/Rivalry | W 78–66 | 1–0 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| November 27* | No. 3 | vs. Wake Forest Big Four Tournament | L 96–97 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| December 1* | No. 9 | Marshall | W 90–70 | 2–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 6* | No. 9 | at Michigan State | W 81–58 | 3–1 | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| December 11* | No. 12 | vs. Virginia Tech | W 81–77 | 4–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Roanoke, VA |
| December 20* | No. 20 | BYU | W 113–93 | 5–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 27* | No. 10 | vs. Oral Roberts Far West Classic quarterfinals | W 100–84 | 6–1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| December 29* | No. 9 | vs. Oregon Far West Classic semifinals | W 86–60 | 7–1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| December 30* | No. 9 | vs. Weber St Far West Classic championship | W 75–54 | 8–1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, OR |
| January 5 | No. 6 | vs. No. 16 Clemson | W 91–63 | 9–1 (1–0) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| January 8 | No. 6 | Virginia | W 91–67 | 10–1 (2–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 13 | No. 5 | at No. 7 Wake Forest | W 77–75 | 11–1 (3–0) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 15 | No. 5 | Duke Rivalry | W 77–68 | 12–1 (4–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 19 | No. 4 | at NC State | L 73–75 | 12–2 (4–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 22 | No. 4 | at No. 13 Maryland | W 71–68 | 13–2 (5–1) | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| January 26 | No. 4 | No. 10 Wake Forest | L 66–67 | 13–3 (5–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 29 | No. 4 | at No. 19 Clemson | L 73–93 | 13–4 (5–3) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| February 4* | No. 13 | vs. Georgia Tech North-South Doubleheader | W 98–74 | 14–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 5* | No. 13 | vs. Furman North-South Doubleheader | W 88–71 | 15–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 9 | No. 14 | Maryland | W 97–70 | 16–4 (6–3) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 12* | No. 14 | vs. Tulane | W 106–94 | 17–4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| February 16* | No. 13 | South Florida | W 100–65 | 18–4 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 20 | No. 13 | at Virginia | W 66–64 | 19–4 (7–3) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| February 23 | No. 9 | NC State | W 90–73 | 20–4 (8–3) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 26 | No. 9 | at Duke Rivalry | W 84–71 | 21–4 (9–3) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| February 27* | No. 9 | vs. No. 10 Louisville | W 96–89 | 22–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| March 4* | No. 5 | vs. NC State Semifinals | W 70–56 | 23–4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 5* | No. 6 | vs. Virginia Championship | W 75–69 | 24–4 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 12* | No. 4 | vs. Purdue First round | W 69–66 | 25–4 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| March 17* | No. 5 | vs. No. 10 Notre Dame Regional semifinal | W 79–77 | 26–4 | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| March 19* | No. 5 | vs. No. 13 Kentucky Regional final | W 79–72 | 27–4 | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| March 26* | No. 5 | vs. No. 4 UNLV Final Four | W 84–83 | 28–4 | The Omni Atlanta, GA |
| March 28* | No. 5 | vs. No. 7 Marquette National Championship | L 59–67 | 28–5 | The Omni Atlanta, GA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||