# 1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented University of North Carolina. Led by senior guard-forward Al Wood, it won the 1981 ACC Tournament and reached the championship of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Indiana University 63–50. The head coach was Dean Smith. The team played its home games at Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | No. 13 | at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout | W 69–50 | 1–0 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 29, 1980* | No. 13 | vs. No. 16 Georgetown Great Alaska Shootout | W 83–71 | 2–0 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 30, 1980* | No. 13 | vs. No. 20 Arkansas Great Alaska Shootout | W 64–58 | 3–0 | Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska |
| Dec 2, 1980* | No. 10 | Mercer | W 89–74 | 4–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 5, 1980* | No. 10 | vs. Duke Big Four Tournament | W 78–76 | 5–0 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Dec 6, 1980* | No. 10 | vs. Wake Forest Big Four Tournament | L 71–82 | 5–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | South Florida | W 73–64 | 6–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 20, 1980* | No. 8 | No. 11 Indiana | W 65–56 | 7–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 22, 1980* | | Rutgers | W 71–64 | 8–1 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 29, 1980* | No. 6 | vs. Louisville Winston Tire Classic | W 86–64 | 9–1 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 30, 1980* | No. 6 | vs. Minnesota Winston Tire Classic | L 60–76 | 9–2 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Jan 3, 1981* | No. 6 | vs. Kansas | L 55–56 | 9–3 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Jan 7, 1981 | No. 16 | No. 8 Maryland | W 75–66 | 10–3 (1–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 10, 1981 | No. 16 | at No. 3 Virginia | L 57–63 | 10–4 (1–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan 14, 1981 | No. 17 | NC State | W 73–70 | 11–4 (2–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 17, 1981 | No. 17 | Duke Rivalry | W 80–65 | 12–4 (3–1) | Carmichael Auditorium (10,000) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 22, 1981 | No. 17 | at No. 3 Wake Forest | W 74–60 | 13–4 (4–1) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 24, 1981 | No. 17 | Georgia Tech | W 100–60 | 14–4 (5–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 28, 1981 | No. 12 | at Clemson | W 61–47 | 15–4 (6–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Jan 31, 1981 | No. 12 | at NC State | W 57–54 | 16–4 (7–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 3, 1981 | No. 11 | No. 1 Virginia | L 79–80 $^{OT}$ | 16–5 (7–2) | Carmichael Auditorium (10,000) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 6, 1981* | No. 11 | Saint Joseph's North-South Doubleheaders | W 87–64 | 17–5 | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 7, 1981* | No. 11 | Furman North-South Doubleheaders | W 79–64 | 18–5 | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 11, 1981 | No. 10 | No. 7 Wake Forest | L 68–84 | 18–6 (7–3) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 15, 1981 | No. 10 | at No. 19 Maryland | W 76–63 | 19–6 (8–3) | Cole Field House College Park, Maryland |
| Feb 18, 1981* | No. 13 | at William & Mary | W 81–55 | 20–6 | Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 13 | Clemson | W 75–61 | 21–6 (9–3) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 25, 1981 | No. 11 | at Georgia Tech | W 75–61 | 22–6 (10–3) | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 11 | at Duke | L 65–66 $^{OT}$ | 22–7 (10–4) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1981* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (7) NC State Quarterfinals | W 69–54 | 23–7 | Capital Centre Landover, Maryland |
| Mar 6, 1981* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (3) No. 11 Wake Forest Semifinals | W 58–57 | 24–7 | Capital Centre Landover, Maryland |
| Mar 7, 1981* | (2) No. 12 | vs. (4) No. 20 Maryland Championship game | W 61–60 | 25–7 | Capital Centre Landover, Maryland |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1981* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (10 W) Pittsburgh Second round | W 74–57 | 26–7 | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Mar 19, 1981* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (3 W) No. 14 Utah West Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 61–56 | 27–7 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Mar 21, 1981* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (8 W) Kansas State West Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 82–68 | 28–7 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Mar 28, 1981* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (1 E) No. 5 Virginia National Semifinals – Final Four | W 78–65 | 29–7 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 30, 1981* | (2 W) No. 6 | vs. (3 ME) No. 9 Indiana National Championship | L 50–63 | 29–8 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

### NCAA basketball tournament

* West
** North Carolina 74, Pittsburgh 57
** North Carolina 61, Utah 56
** North Carolina 82, Kansas State 68
* Final Four
** North Carolina 78, Virginia 65
** Indiana 63, North Carolina 50

## Awards and honors

* Sam Perkins, ACC Rookie of the Year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1981 | 1 | 4 | Al Wood | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1981 | 5 | 73 | Pete Budko | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1981 | 6 | 123 | Mike Pepper | San Diego Clippers |
| 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 | 4 | Sam Perkins | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1984 | 6 | 118 | Matt Doherty | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1984 | 9 | 194 | Cecil Exum | Denver Nuggets |
| 1985 | 5 | 104 | Dean Shaffer | Washington Bullets |