# 1981–82 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1981–82 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented University of North Carolina. The team played its home games in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Led by James Worthy, Sam Perkins and freshman Michael Jordan, the Tar Heels won the National Championship. It was head coach Dean Smith's first title.

## Player stats

| Player | Games | Minutes | Field Goals | Three Pointers | Free Throws | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Assists | Points |
| James Worthy | 34 | 1178 | 203 | N/A | 126 | 215 | 8 | 52 | 82 | 532 |
| Michael Jordan | 34 | 1079 | 191 | N/A | 78 | 149 | 8 | 41 | 61 | 460 |
| Sam Perkins | 32 | 1141 | 174 | N/A | 109 | 250 | 53 | 33 | 35 | 457 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 28* ESPN | No. 1 | vs. Kansas | W 74–67 | 1–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| November 30* | No. 1 | vs. USC | W 73–62 | 2–0 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| December 3* | No. 1 | No. 9 Tulsa | W 78–70 | 3–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 12* | No. 1 | South Florida | W 75–39 | 4–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 19* | No. 1 | vs. Rutgers | W 59–36 | 5–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| December 26* NBC | No. 1 | vs. No. 2 Kentucky | W 82–69 | 6–0 | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| December 28* | No. 1 | vs. Penn State Cable Car Classic | W 56–50 $^{OT}$ | 7–0 | Toso Pavilion Santa Clara, CA |
| December 29* | No. 1 | at Santa Clara | W 76–57 | 8–0 | Toso Pavilion Santa Clara, CA |
| January 4* | No. 1 | William & Mary | W 64–40 | 9–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 6 | No. 1 | Maryland | W 66–50 | 10–0 (1–0) | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| January 9 NBC | No. 1 | No. 2 Virginia | W 65–60 | 11–0 (2–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 13 | No. 1 | No. 12 NC State Rivalry | W 61–41 | 12–0 (3–0) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 16 | No. 1 | Duke Rivalry | W 73–63 | 13–0 (4–0) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| January 21 | No. 1 | Wake Forest | L 48–55 | 13–1 (4–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 23 | No. 1 | at Georgia Tech | W 66–54 | 14–1 (5–1) | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, GA |
| January 27 | No. 2 | Clemson | W 77–72 | 15–1 (6–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 30 | No. 2 | No. 17 NC State Rivalry | W 58–44 | 16–1 (7–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 3 | No. 2 | at No. 3 Virginia | L 58–74 | 16–2 (7–2) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| February 5* | No. 2 | vs. Furman North-South Doubleheader | W 96–69 | 17–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 6* | No. 2 | vs. The Citadel North-South Doubleheader | W 67–46 | 18–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 11 | No. 2 | Maryland | W 59–56 | 19–2 (8–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 14* | No. 2 | vs. Georgia | W 66–57 | 20–2 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| February 17 | No. 2 | at No. 14 Wake Forest | W 69–51 | 21–2 (9–2) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| February 20 | No. 2 | at Clemson | W 55–49 | 22–2 (10–2) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| February 24 | No. 2 | Georgia Tech | W 77–54 | 23–2 (11–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 27 | No. 2 | Duke | W 84–66 | 24–2 (12–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC tournament ||||||
| March 5* | (1) No. 1 | (8) Georgia Tech Quarterfinals | W 55–39 | 25–2 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 6* | (1) No. 1 | (4) NC State Semifinals | W 58–46 | 26–2 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 7* NBC | (1) No. 1 | (2) No. 3 Virginia Championship | W 47–45 | 27–2 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 13* no, CBS | (1 E) No. 1 | (9 E) James Madison Second round | W 52–50 | 28–2 | Charlotte Coliseum (11,666) Charlotte, NC |
| March 19* | (1 E) No. 1 | (4 E) No. 13 Alabama Sweet Sixteen | W 74–69 | 29–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| March 21* CBS | (1 E) No. 1 | (3 E) Villanova Elite Eight | W 70–60 | 30–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| March 27* CBS | (1 E) No. 1 | (6 MW) Houston Final Four | W 68–63 | 31–2 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA |
| March 29* CBS | (1 E) No. 1 | (1 W) No. 6 Georgetown National Championship Game | W 63–62 | 32–2 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Rank in NCAA tournament indicates seed in the region, E-East region, M-Midwest region, W-West region. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Michael Jordan, ACC Rookie of the Year
* James Worthy, NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1982 | 1 | 1 | James Worthy | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1982 | 3 | 59 | Jimmy Black | New Jersey Nets |
| 1982 | 6 | 131 | Chris Brust | Denver Nuggets |
| 1982 | 7 | 153 | Jeb Barlow | Denver Nuggets |
| 1983 | 5 | 107 | Jim Braddock | Denver Nuggets |
| 1984 | 1 | 3 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1984 | 1 | 4 | Sam Perkins | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1984 | 6 | 118 | Matt Doherty | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1984 | 9 | 194 | Cecil Exum | Denver Nuggets |
| 1985 | 7 | 147 | Buzz Peterson | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1986 | 4 | 78 | John Brownlee | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1986 | 4 | 73 | Warren Martin | Cleveland Cavaliers |