# 1978–79 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1978–79 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 29* | No. 14 | at Northwestern | W 97–67 | 1–0 | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| December 1* | No. 14 | vs. Wake Forest Big Four Tournament | W 73–55 | 2–0 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| December 2* | No. 14 | vs. No. 1 Duke Big Four Tournament | L 68–78 | 2–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| December 4* | No. 14 | Detroit | W 93–76 | 3–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 9* | No. 14 | Jacksonville | W 85–56 | 4–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 16* | No. 13 | No. 3 Michigan State | W 70–69 | 5–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 22* | No. 6 | at Cincinnati | W 62–59 | 6–1 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| December 29* | No. 5 | vs. Dartmouth Kodak Classic | W 86–67 | 7–1 | War Memorial Coliseum Rochester, NY |
| December 30* | No. 5 | vs. Niagara Kodak Classic | W 121–69 | 8–1 | War Memorial Coliseum Rochester, NY |
| January 3 | No. 5 | vs. Clemson | W 90–68 | 9–1 (1–0) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| January 6 | No. 3 | Virginia | W 86–74 $^{2OT}$ | 10–1 (2–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 10 | No. 3 | at Wake Forest | L 56–59 | 10–2 (2–1) | Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 13 | No. 3 | No. 7 Duke | W 74–68 | 11–2 (3–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 14* | No. 3 | vs. No. 10 Arkansas | W 63–57 | 12–2 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| January 17 | No. 2 | at No. 14 NC State | W 70–69 | 13–2 (4–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 20 | No. 2 | at No. 19 Maryland | W 54–53 | 14–2 (5–1) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD |
| January 25 | No. 2 | Wake Forest | W 76–69 | 15–2 (6–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 27 | No. 2 | at Clemson | L 61–66 | 15–3 (6–2) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| February 2* | No. 4 | vs. Furman North-South Doubleheader | L 70–83 | 15–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 3* | No. 4 | vs. Virginia Tech North-South Doubleheader | W 92–80 $^{OT}$ | 16–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 7 | No. 6 | Maryland | W 76–67 | 17–4 (7–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 10* | No. 6 | vs. Providence | W 89–55 | 18–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| February 14* | No. 4 | William & Mary | W 85–60 | 19–4 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 17 | No. 4 | at Virginia | W 66–57 | 20–4 (8–2) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| February 22 | No. 4 | NC State | W 71–56 | 21–4 (9–2) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 24 | No. 4 | at No. 6 Duke | L 40–47 | 21–5 (9–3) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| March 2* | (1) No. 7 | vs. (4) Maryland Semifinals | W 102–79 | 22–5 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| March 3* | (1) No. 7 | vs. (2) No. 5 Duke Championship | W 71–63 | 23–5 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 11* | (1 E) No. 3 | vs. (9 E) Pennsylvania NCAA tournament | L 71–72 | 23–6 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
| Coaches | 12 | — | — | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | Not released |
^Coaches did not release Week 1 or Week 2 polls.