# 2018–19 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 2018–19 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Roy Williams, who was in his 16th season as UNC's head men's basketball coach. The Tar Heels played their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 29–7, 16–2 in ACC play to finish tied for the regular season conference championship with Virginia. As the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament, they advanced to the semifinals before ultimately losing to Duke. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Auburn.

## Previous season

The Tar Heels finished the 2017–18 season with a record of 26–11, 11–7 in ACC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Syracuse, Miami, and Duke before losing to Virginia in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West region where they defeated Lipscomb before losing to Texas A&M in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Theo Pinson | 1 | G/F | 6'6" | 205 | Senior | Greensboro, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Joel Berry II | 2 | G | 6'0" | 195 | Senior | Apopka, Florida | Graduated |
| Kane Ma | 14 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Greensboro, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Aaron Rohlman | 25 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Gastonia, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Jalek Felton | 5 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Columbia, South Carolina | Dismissed |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nassir Little SF | Orange Park, FL | Orlando Christian Prep | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 4, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 ||||||
| Coby White PG/SG | Goldsboro, NC | Greenfield School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 28, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Leaky Black SF | Concord, NC | Cox Mill High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jan 15, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #8 Rivals: #9 247Sports: #8 ESPN: #7 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2018* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 8 | Mount Olive | W 107–64 | | 16 – Brooks | 16 – Brooks | 6 – White | Dean Smith Center (20,314) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at Wofford | W 78–67 | 1–0 | 24 – Maye | 8 – Johnson | 5 – Williams | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (3,400) Spartanburg, SC |
| November 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 8 | at Elon | W 116–67 | 2–0 | 21 – Tied | 10 – Maye | 5 – Tied | Schar Center (5,245) Elon, NC |
| November 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 | Stanford | W 90–72 | 3–0 | 17 – Johnson | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (19,647) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 7 | Tennessee Tech Las Vegas Invitational Campus-Site Game | W 108–58 | 4–0 | 15 – Maye | 8 – Maye | 8 – Woods | Dean Smith Center (20,816) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 19, 2018* 8:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 7 | Saint Francis (PA) Las Vegas Invitational Campus-Site Game | W 101–76 | 5–0 | 20 – Johnson | 10 – Maye | 9 – Williams | Dean Smith Center (20,547) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 22, 2018* 7:30 pm, FS1 | No. 7 | vs. Texas Las Vegas Invitational Semifinal | L 89–92 | 5–1 | 33 – White | 9 – Maye | 5 – Williams | Orleans Arena (7,489) Paradise, NV |
| November 23, 2018* 4:00 pm, FOX | No. 7 | vs. No. 17 UCLA Las Vegas Invitational Third-place game | W 94–78 | 6–1 | 19 – White | 8 – Maye | 8 – White | Orleans Arena (7,489) Paradise, NV |
| November 28, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | at No. 7 Michigan ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 67–84 | 6–2 | 12 – White | 15 – Maye | 4 – White | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 5, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | UNC Wilmington | W 97–69 | 7–2 | 21 – Johnson | 10 – Manley | 8 – Williams | Dean Smith Center (20,083) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | No. 4 Gonzaga | W 103–90 | 8–2 | 25 – Johnson | 16 – Maye | 6 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 22, 2018* 5:15 pm, CBS | No. 9 | vs. No. 19 Kentucky CBS Sports Classic/Rivalry | L 72–80 | 8–3 | 17 – Johnson | 8 – Brooks | 5 – Williams | United Center (15,124) Chicago, IL |
| December 29, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Davidson | W 82–60 | 9–3 | 17 – Johnson | 14 – Maye | 7 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,486) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 2, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 15 | Harvard | W 77–57 | 10–3 | 14 – Maye | 7 – Tied | 4 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,329) Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Regular Season |||||||||
| January 5, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom | No. 15 | at Pittsburgh | W 85-60 | 11–3 (1–0) | 22 – White | 11 – Maye | 5 – Brooks | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 8, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 15 NC State Rivalry | W 90–82 | 12–3 (2–0) | 21 – Maye | 11 – Tied | 5 – Tied | PNC Arena (19,722) Raleigh, NC |
| January 12, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | Louisville | L 62–83 | 12–4 (2–1) | 12 – Williams | 11 – Maye | 3 – Maye | Dean Smith Center (21,243) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 15, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | Notre Dame | W 75–69 | 13–4 (3–1) | 17 – White | 10 – Maye | 6 – Johnson | Dean Smith Center (20,475) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 19, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | at Miami (FL) | W 85–76 | 14–4 (4–1) | 22 – Johnson | 9 – Maye | 8 – White | Watsco Center (7,131) Coral Gables, FL |
| January 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | No. 10 Virginia Tech | W 103–82 | 15–4 (5–1) | 27 – White | 7 – White | 6 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,148) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 29, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 9 | at Georgia Tech | W 77–54 | 16–4 (6–1) | 22 – Johnson | 9 – Tied | 8 – White | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| February 2, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at No. 15 Louisville | W 79–69 | 17–4 (7–1) | 20 – Maye | 11 – Maye | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (19,985) Louisville, KY |
| February 5, 2019 8:00 pm, Raycom | No. 8 | NC State Rivalry | W 113–96 | 18–4 (8–1) | 31 – Maye | 12 – Maye | 6 – Brooks | Dean Smith Center (21,124) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 9, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom | No. 8 | Miami (FL) | W 88–85 $^{OT}$ | 19–4 (9–1) | 33 – White | 6 – Tied | 6 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,383) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 4 Virginia Rivalry | L 61–69 | 19–5 (9–2) | 17 – White | 11 – Maye | 5 – Williams | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 16, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom | No. 8 | at Wake Forest | W 95–57 | 20–5 (10–2) | 27 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 6 – White | LJVM Coliseum (14,352) Winston-Salem, NC |
| February 20, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN/Raycom | No. 8 | at No. 1 Duke Rivalry | W 88–72 | 21–5 (11–2) | 30 – Maye | 15 – Maye | 4 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| February 23, 2019 3:45 pm, CBS | No. 8 | No. 16 Florida State | W 77–59 | 22–5 (12–2) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Maye | 4 – White | Dean Smith Center (21,520) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 26, 2019 9:00 pm, Raycom | No. 5 | Syracuse | W 93–85 | 23–5 (13–2) | 34 – White | 12 – Maye | 6 – Maye | Dean Smith Center (21,135) Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 2, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at Clemson | W 81–79 | 24–5 (14–2) | 28 – White | 10 – Maye | 5 – White | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,248) Clemson, SC |
| March 5, 2019 8:00 pm, Raycom | No. 3 | at Boston College | W 79–66 | 25–5 (15–2) | 22 – Johnson | 20 – Maye | 5 – Tied | Conte Forum (7,731) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| March 9, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | No. 4 Duke Rivalry | W 79–70 | 26–5 (16–2) | 21 – White | 16 – Maye | 7 – Maye | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 3 | vs. (7) Louisville Quarterfinals | W 83–70 | 27–5 | 19 – Tied | 9 – Maye | 6 – White | Spectrum Center (19,691) Charlotte, NC |
| March 15, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 3 | vs. (3) No. 5 Duke Semifinals/Rivalry | L 73–74 | 27–6 | 23 – Johnson | 13 – Maye | 4 – White | Spectrum Center (20,116) Charlotte, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 9:20 pm, TNT | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (16 MW) Iona First Round | W 88–73 | 28–6 | 21 – Johnson | 9 – Maye | 4 – Johnson | Nationwide Arena (19,426) Columbus, OH |
| March 24, 2019* 2:40 pm, CBS | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (9 MW) Washington Second Round | W 81–59 | 29–6 | 20 – Tied | 14 – Maye | 7 – Johnson | Nationwide Arena (19,610) Columbus, OH |
| March 29, 2019* 7:29pm, TBS | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (5 MW) No. 14 Auburn Sweet Sixteen | L 80–97 | 29–7 | 15 – Tied | 4 – Tied | 7 – Maye | Sprint Center (17,385) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Not released |
| Coaches | 7 | 7^ | 6 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.