# 2000–01 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 2000–01 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Matt Doherty. The team captain for this season was Brendan Haywood. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

## Roster

Fingleton had back surgery in August 2000, but was unable to practice with the team until midway into the season.

## Schedule and results

This season was Doherty's first year as head coach, after the retirement of Bill Guthridge. He was formally announced as head coach on July 11, 2000.
The Tar Heels started the season ranked sixth in the AP Poll. After suffering back to back losses from Michigan State and an upset loss against an unranked Kentucky, the Tar Heels went on an 18-0 undefeated run, including an undefeated 11-0 run in conference play. During this run, the Tar Heels were ranked number one in the AP Poll; this Tar Heel team was the first team Doherty coached that reached that achievement. Despite losses to Clemson, Virginia, and eventual national champions Duke in return fixtures, the Tar Heels won a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
The Tar Heels were the number one seed in the 2001 ACC men's basketball tournament, held that year in Atlanta, Georgia. They defeated Clemson and Georgia Tech in the semifinals and finals, respectfully, before falling to Duke in the final.
Seeded second in the South Region for the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels defeated fifteenth-seeded Princeton in New Orleans, Louisiana before falling to seventh-seeded Penn State in a surprise upset.
The Tar Heels would end the season ranked sixth in the AP Poll and fifth in the Coaches Poll.
On March 30, 2001, Doherty was named the AP Coach of the Year. He was the first coach to win this honor in his first season coaching a team since Kelvin Sampson in 1995.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| October 21, 2000* 2:00 pm | | Blue Team/White Team Scrimmage | | | | | | Dean Smith Center (10,225) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 6, 2000* 7:00 pm | | Yakima Sun Kings Exhibition game | W 96–87 | 0–0 | 22 – Tied | 13 – Haywood | 9 – Forte | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 10, 2000* 7:30 pm | No. 6 | Winthrop NABC Classic | W 66–61 | 1–0 | 14 – Tied | 8 – Lang | 4 – Forte | Dean Smith Center (16,850) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 11, 2000* 8:30 pm | No. 6 | Tulsa NABC Classic | W 91–81 | 2–0 | 38 – Forte | 10 – Forte | 6 – Forte | Dean Smith Center (19,875) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 17, 2000* 7:30 pm, Fox Sports South | No. 7 | at Appalachian State | W 99–69 | 3–0 | 20 – Forte | 6 – Tied | 6 – Capel | Holmes Center (8,325) Boone, NC |
| November 21, 2000* 7:00 pm | No. 7 | EA California All-Stars Exhibition game | W 88–65 | 0–0 | 19 – Forte | 17 – Haywood | – | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 29, 2000* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | at No. 3 Michigan State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 64–77 | 3–1 | 22 – Lang | 5 – Tied | 5 – Capel | Breslin Center (14,759) East Lansing, MI |
| December 2, 2000* 3:50 pm, CBS | No. 6 | Kentucky Rivalry | L 76–93 | 3–2 | 19 – Forte | 11 – Haywood | 5 – Morrison | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 4, 2000* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Miami (FL) | W 67–45 | 4–2 | 18 – Haywood | 14 – Haywood | 7 – Forte | Dean Smith Center (19,859) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 9, 2000* 9:00 pm, Fox Sports | No. 14 | at Texas A&M | W 82–60 | 5–2 | 23 – Forte | 7 – Capel | 7 – Capel | Reed Arena (9,123) College Station, TX |
| December 17, 2000* 1:30 pm, RJ | No. 15 | Buffalo | W 95–74 | 6–2 | 23 – Forte | 11 – Capel | 10 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (18,134) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 23, 2000* 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 15 | at UCLA | W 80–70 | 7–2 | 29 – Forte | 13 – Haywood | 3 – Tied | Pauley Pavilion (10,593) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 2000* 9:15 pm, RJ | No. 14 | vs. UMass Tournament of Champions | W 91–60 | 8–2 | 16 – Forte | 7 – Tied | 4 – Curry | Charlotte Coliseum (13,224) Charlotte, NC |
| December 30, 2000* 9:15 pm, RJ | No. 14 | vs. Charleston Tournament of Champions | W 64–60 | 9–2 | 29 – Forte | 8 – Tied | 3 – Capel | Charlotte Coliseum (13,378) Charlotte, NC |
| January 2, 2001 8:00 pm, RJ | No. 13 | at Georgia Tech | W 84–70 | 10–2 (1–0) | 20 – Forte | 12 – Lang | 4 – Curry | Alexander Coliseum (9,510) Atlanta, GA |
| January 6, 2001 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | No. 4 Wake Forest | W 70–69 | 11–2 (2–0) | 24 – Haywood | 10 – Haywood | 7 – Curry | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 10, 2001 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 14 Maryland | W 86–83 | 12–2 (3–0) | 26 – Forte | 10 – Capel | 7 – Curry | Cole Field House (14,500) College Park, MD |
| January 13, 2001* 1:00 pm, ABC | No. 9 | Marquette | W 84–54 | 13–2 | 17 – Haywood | 9 – Tied | 3 – Haywood | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 17, 2001 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | Clemson | W 92–65 | 14–2 (4–0) | 14 – Forte | 9 – Capel | 5 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (21,335) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 20, 2001 4:00 pm, RJ | No. 6 | at Florida State | W 80–70 | 15–2 (5–0) | 28 – Forte | 6 – Capel | 4 – Curry | Tallahassee Civic Center (7,452) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 24, 2001 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 13 Virginia | W 88–81 | 16–2 (6–0) | 33 – Forte | 10 – Haywood | 4 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 28, 2001 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | at NC State Carolina–State Game | W 60–52 | 17–2 (7–0) | 21 – Forte | 8 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Raleigh ESA (19,722) Raleigh, NC |
| February 1, 2001 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | at No. 2 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry | W 85–83 | 18–2 (8–0) | 24 – Forte | 16 – Forte | 6 – Forte | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| February 3, 2001 4:00 pm, RJ | No. 4 | Georgia Tech | W 82–69 | 19–2 (9–0) | 23 – Forte | 11 – Capel | 5 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 6, 2001 9:00 pm, RJ | No. 1 | at No. 19 Wake Forest | W 80–74 | 20–2 (10–0) | 24 – Forte | 10 – Capel | 6 – Haywood | LJVM Coliseum (14,407) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 10, 2001 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 1 | No. 13 Maryland | W 96–82 | 21–2 (11–0) | 27 – Capel | 8 – Capel | 8 – Curry | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 18, 2001 4:00 pm, RJ | No. 1 | at Clemson | L 65–75 | 21–3 (11–1) | 16 – Tied | 12 – Capel | 4 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (11,200) Clemson, SC |
| February 22, 2001 8:00 pm, RJ | No. 2 | Florida State | W 95–67 | 22–3 (12–1) | 36 – Forte | 9 – Lang | 4 – Forte | Dean Smith Center (21,652) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 24, 2001 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 2 | at No. 9 Virginia | L 66–86 | 22–4 (12–2) | 28 – Forte | 9 – Capel | 5 – Tied | University Hall (8,392) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 28, 2001 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | NC State Carolina–State Game | W 76–63 | 23–4 (13–2) | 27 – Forte | 8 – Haywood | 4 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 4, 2001 3:30 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | No. 2 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry | L 81–95 | 23–5 (13–3) | 21 – Forte | 11 – Capel | 5 – Curry | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2001 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 6 | vs. (9) Clemson Quarterfinal | W 99–81 | 24–5 | 23 – Capel | 3 – Capel | 10 – Curry | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| March 10, 2001 1:30 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 6 | vs. (5) Georgia Tech Semifinal | W 70–63 | 25–5 | 27 – Forte | 12 – Forte | 4 – Capel | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA |
| March 11, 2001 1:00PM, ESPN | (1) No. 6 | vs. (2) No. 3 Duke Rivalry/Final | L 53–79 | 25–6 | 14 – Forte | 13 – Haywood | 4 – Tied | Georgia Dome (40,083) Atlanta, GA |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2001 CBS | (2 S) No. 6 | vs. (15 S) Princeton First Round | W 70–48 | 26–6 | 15 – Haywood | 12 – Forte | 8 – Capel | Louisiana Superdome (12,107) New Orleans, LA |
| March 18, 2001 CBS | (2 S) No. 6 | vs. (7 S) Penn State Second Round | L 74–82 | 26–7 | 21 – Peppers | 13 – Haywood | 7 – Curry | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | Not released |
| Coaches | 4 | 4^ | 7 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2001 | 1 | 20 | Brendan Haywood | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2001 | 1 | 21 | Joseph Forte | Boston Celtics |