# 2001–02 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 2001–02 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Matt Doherty. The team captains for this season were Jason Capel and Kris Lang. 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 only played one game, against Davidson, before announcing he would transfer at the end of 2001. He later transferred to Holy Cross.

## Schedule and results

The Tar Heels started their regular season with three losses, the first time they had done so in 73 years. Their first regular season and conference win over Georgia Tech avoided the program's first 0-4 start in its history.
The Tar Heels were ranked number 19 in that season's preseason AP Poll. They fell out of the AP Poll after losing to Hampton. It would be the Tar Heels' only AP Poll ranking that season.
The 2001-02 season was also the first season the Tar Heels did not make it to the championship game of the Tournament of Champions presented by Hardee's in ten years, falling to Charleston in the second game. The Tar Heels did manage to upset Saint Joseph's, then ranked number 15 in the AP Poll, in the consolation game.
Prior to 2002, the largest margin of defeat against the Tar Heels in the Dean Smith Center was set in a 20-point loss against Duke in 1999. Kentucky, with 17 points, and NC State, with 18 points, nearly broke Duke's record, before Wake Forest succeeded with 22 points; Duke then reclaimed the record with a 29-point victory.
At the time, the away game at Cole Field House was the worst defeat in 79 years against Maryland, and the most points an opponent scored over the Tar Heels. The defeat also nearly matched the Tar Heels' worst defeat in their history with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The home loss against NC State was also the worst home defeat to the Wolfpack since Dean Smith's first year as coach in 1962.
The Tar Heels matched their record for most losses in a season (15 losses in the 1950–51 and 1951-52 seasons) after their loss to Maryland at home. They would end the season with 20 losses, the most losses in the history of the program.
The Tar Heels ended their regular season at home with a 6-9 record, the worst home record in the history of the program.
In the 2002 ACC men's basketball tournament, the seventh-seeded Tar Heels were defeated by second-seeded Duke, who would go on to win that year's tournament.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| October 25, 2001* 7:30 pm | | Blue-White Game Scrimmage | | | | | | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 4, 2001* 1:00 pm | | EA Sports All-Stars Exhibition game | L 76 - 107 | 0-0 | 34 – Lang | 8 – Tied | 8 – Morrison | Dean Smith Center (5,038) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 10, 2001* 4:30 pm | No. 19 | Nike Elite Exhibition game | W 81 - 70 | 0-0 | 27 – Lang | 15 – Johnson | 5 – Boone | Dean Smith Center (7,528) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 16, 2001* 7:30 pm | No. 19 | Hampton | L 69-77 | 0-1 | 17 – Capel | 11 – Capel | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (17,320) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 20, 2001* 7:00 pm, RSN | | Davidson | L 54-58 | 0-2 | 15 – Scott | 11 – Capel | 5 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (14,705) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 28, 2001* 9:00 pm, ESPN | | Indiana ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 66-79 | 0-3 | 27 – Lang | 9 – Capel | 5 – Scott | Dean Smith Center (18,358) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 2, 2001 6:00, RSN | | Georgia Tech | W 83-77 | 1-3 (1-0) | 21 – Morrison | 13 – Lang | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (17,492) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 8, 2001* 4:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 11 Kentucky Rivalry | L 59-79 | 1-4 | 18 – Lang | 12 – Capel | 4 – Morrison | Rupp Arena (23,153) Lexington, KY |
| December 16, 2001* 1:00 pm, RJ | | Binghamton | W 61-60 | 2-4 | 12 – Williams | 10 – Capel | 6 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (12,132) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 21, 2001* 9:15 pm, RJ | | vs. Charleston Tournament of Champions | L 60-66 | 2-5 | 14 – Tied | 10 – Capel | 4 – Capel | Cricket Arena (9,713) Charlotte, NC |
| December 22, 2001* 7:00 pm, RJ | | vs. No. 15 Saint Joseph's Tournament of Champions | W 92-76 | 3-5 | 21 – Capel | 16 – Capel | 5 – Morrison | Cricket Arena (5,115) Charlotte, NC |
| December 27, 2001* 7:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 104-66 | 4-5 | 26 – Capel | 9 – Bersticker | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (15,150) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 30, 2001* 8:00 pm, RSN | | Texas A&M | W 96-62 | 5-5 | 22 – Capel | 16 – Capel | 6 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (15,676) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 5, 2002 4:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 23 Wake Forest | L 62-84 | 5-6 (1-1) | 13 – Capel | 9 – Capel | 4 – Boone | Dean Smith Center (21,293) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 9, 2002 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 4 Maryland | L 79-112 | 5-7 (1-2) | 27 – Capel | 7 – Lang | 5 – Tied | Cole Field House (14,500) College Park, MD |
| January 12, 2002 12:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Virginia | L 67-71 | 5-8 (1-3) | 18 – Lang | 7 – Manuel | 5 – Capel | Dean Smith Center (20,079) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 16, 2002 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Florida State | L 71-81 | 5-9 (1-4) | 23 – Lang | 8 – Lang | 4 – Manuel | Tallahassee Civic Center (7,523) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 19, 2002* 4:00 pm, CBS | | at Connecticut | L 54-86 | 5-10 | 15 – Lang | 8 – Williams | 3 – Boone | Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, CT |
| January 23, 2002 9:00 pm, RJ | | NC State Carolina–State Game | L 59-77 | 5-11 (1-5) | 27 – Lang | 7 – Williams | 6 – Morrison | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 27, 2002 6:00 pm, RSN | | at Clemson | W 87-69 | 6-11 (2-5) | 23 – Boone | 10 – Boone | 4 – Tied | Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) Clemson, SC |
| January 31, 2002 9:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry | L 58-87 | 6-12 (2-6) | 12 – Morrison | 5 – Manuel | 4 – Morrison | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 2, 2002 1:00 pm, CBS | | at Georgia Tech | L 74-86 | 6-13 (2-7) | 21 – Capel | 13 – Lang | 7 – Boone | Alexander Memorial Coliseum (6,550) Atlanta, GA |
| February 6, 2002 9:00 pm, RJ | | at No. 19 Wake Forest | L 66-90 | 6-14 (2-8) | 13 – Morrison | 8 – Lang | 4 – Capel | LJVM Coliseum (13,523) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 10, 2002 6:30 pm, RSN | | No. 3 Maryland | L 77-92 | 6-15 (2-9) | 23 – Lang | 11 – Williams | 5 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (18,751) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 12, 2002 8:00 pm, RJ | | at No. 15 Virginia | L 63-73 | 6-16 (2-10) | 19 – Lang | 9 – Capel | 4 – Boone | University Hall (7,331) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 17, 2002 3:00 pm, RJ | | Florida State | W 95-85 | 7-16 (3-10) | 28 – Boone | 8 – Capel | 6 – Boone | Dean Smith Center (17,055) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 20, 2002* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | | Ohio | L 78-86 | 7-17 | 17 – Scott | 6 – Manuel | 7 – Boone | Dean Smith Center (13,252) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 24, 2002 6:30 pm, RSN | | at NC State Carolina–State Game | L 76-98 | 7-18 (3-11) | 19 – Lang | 10 – Williams | 5 – Boone | Raleigh ESA (19,722) Raleigh, NC |
| February 27, 2002 9:00 pm, RJ | | Clemson | W 96-78 | 8-18 | 28 – Capel | 5 – Tied | 8 – Boone | Dean Smith Center (16,125) Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 3, 2002 3:30 pm, ABC | | at No. 3 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry | L 68-93 | 8-19 (4-12) | 20 – Capel | 9 – Capel | 8 – Boone | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2002 7:00 pm, ESPN | (7) | vs. (2) No. 3 Duke Quarterfinals/Rivalry | L 48-60 | 8-20 | 14 – Lang | 12 – Capel | 4 – Capel | Charlotte Coliseum (23,895) Charlotte, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in EST. |||||||||