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

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.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| December 1, 1992* | No. 7 | Old Dominion | W 119–82 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 4, 1992* | No. 7 | vs. South Carolina Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions | W 108–67 | 2–0 | – | – | – | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| December 5, 1992* | No. 7 | vs. Texas Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions | W 104–68 | 3–0 | – | – | – | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| December 9, 1992* | No. 5 | vs. Virginia Tech | W 78–62 | 4–0 | – | – | – | Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, VA |
| December 13, 1992* | No. 5 | Houston | W 84–76 | 5–0 | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 20, 1992* | No. 5 | at Butler | W 103–56 | 6–0 | – | – | – | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| December 22, 1992* | No. 5 | at Ohio State | W 84–64 | 7–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 28, 1992* | No. 5 | vs. SW Louisiana Rainbow Classic | W 80–59 | 8–0 | – | – | – | Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 29, 1992* | No. 5 | No. 6 Michigan Rainbow Classic | L 78–79 | 8–1 | – | – | – | Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| December 30, 1992* | No. 5 | at Hawaii | W 101–84 | 9–1 | – | – | – | Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| January 4, 1993* | No. 5 | Cornell | W 98–60 | 10–1 | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 7, 1993 | No. 6 | at NC State Rivalry | W 100–67 | 11–1 (1–0) | – | – | – | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 9, 1993 | No. 6 | Maryland | W 101–73 | 12–1 (2–0) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 13, 1993 | No. 5 | No. 8 Georgia Tech | W 80–67 | 13–1 (3–0) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 16, 1993 | No. 5 | at Clemson | W 82–72 | 14–1 (4–0) | – | – | – | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| January 20, 1993 | No. 3 | No. 17 Virginia | W 80–58 | 15–1 (5–0) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 24, 1993* | No. 3 | at No. 10 Seton Hall | W 70–66 | 16–1 | – | – | – | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| January 27, 1993 | No. 3 | No. 19 Florida State | W 82–77 | 17–1 (6–0) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 30, 1993 | No. 3 | at Wake Forest | L 62–88 | 17–2 (6–1) | – | – | – | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 3, 1993 | No. 6 | at No. 5 Duke Rivalry | L 67–81 | 17–3 (6–2) | – | – | – | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| February 6, 1993 | No. 6 | NC State | W 104–58 | 18–3 (7–2) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 9, 1993 | No. 6 | at Maryland | W 77–63 | 19–3 (8–2) | – | – | – | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| February 14, 1993 | No. 6 | at Georgia Tech | W 77–66 | 20–3 (9–2) | – | – | – | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA |
| February 17, 1993 | No. 3 | Clemson | W 80–67 | 21–3 (10–2) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 21, 1993 | No. 3 | at Virginia | W 78–58 | 22–3 (11–2) | – | – | – | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| February 23, 1993* | No. 3 | Notre Dame | W 85–56 | 23–3 | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 27, 1993 | No. 3 | at No. 6 Florida State | W 86–76 | 24–3 (12–2) | – | – | – | Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Tallahassee, FL |
| March 3, 1993 | No. 1 | No. 14 Wake Forest | W 83–65 | 25–3 (13–2) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 7, 1993 | No. 1 | No. 6 Duke | W 83–69 | 26–3 (14–2) | – | – | – | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 1993* | No. 1 | vs. Maryland ACC Tournament • Quarterfinals | W 102–66 | 27–3 | – | – | – | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| March 13, 1993* | No. 1 | vs. Virginia ACC Tournament • Semifinals | W 74–56 | 28–3 | – | – | – | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| March 14, 1993* | No. 1 | vs. Georgia Tech ACC Tournament • Final | L 75–77 | 28–4 | – | – | – | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 1993* | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (E16) East Carolina NCAA Tournament • First round | W 85–65 | 29–4 | – | – | – | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 20, 1993* | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (E8) Rhode Island NCAA Tournament • Second Round | W 112–67 | 30–4 | – | – | – | Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 26, 1993* | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (E4) No. 12 Arkansas NCAA Tournament • Regional semifinals | W 80–74 | 31–4 | – | – | – | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| March 28, 1993* | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (E2) No. 7 Cincinnati NCAA Tournament • Regional Final | W 75–68 | 32–4 | – | – | – | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| April 3, 1993* CBS | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (MW2) No. 9 Kansas NCAA Tournament • National semifinals | W 78–68 | 33–4 | – | – | – | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA |
| April 5, 1993* CBS | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (W1) No. 3 Michigan NCAA Tournament • National Final | W 77–71 | 34–4 | 25 – Williams | 10 – Lynch | 6 – Phelps | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. |||||||||

## Awards and honors

* Dean Smith, Naismith College Coach of the Year
* Donald Williams, NCAA Men's MOP Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1993 | 1 | 12 | George Lynch | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1994 | 1 | 9 | Eric Montross | Boston Celtics |
Kevin Salvadori, Matt Wenstrom and Derrick Phelps also went on to play in the NBA, but were undrafted.