# 1985–86 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1985–86 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina from Chapel Hill, North Carolina during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
Led by head coach Dean Smith, the Tar Heels completed yet another in a long line of impressive seasons, holding the #1 ranking in the AP poll for 13 consecutive weeks, and reaching the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual national champion, Louisville.
On January 18, 1986, #1 North Carolina defeated #3 Duke 95–92 in the first game played at the Dean Smith Center.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 24, 1985* | No. 2 | UCLA | W 107–70 | 1–0 | Carmichael Auditorium (10,000) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Nov 25, 1985* | No. 1 | Iona | W 110–67 | 2–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| Nov 29, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Missouri Great Alaska Shootout | W 84–63 | 3–0 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| Nov 30, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Purdue Great Alaska Shootout | W 73–62 | 4–0 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| Dec 1, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. No. 16 UNLV Great Alaska Shootout | W 65–60 | 5–0 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| Dec 7, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Rutgers | W 114–71 | 6–0 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| Dec 14, 1985* | No. 1 | Ohio | W 99–57 | 7–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 17, 1985* | No. 1 | at Jacksonville | W 69–65 | 8–0 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, FL |
| Dec 20, 1985* | No. 1 | Stanford | W 89–55 | 9–0 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 22, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. The Citadel | W 104–51 | 10–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| Dec 27, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Manhattan Orange Bowl Tournament | W 129–45 | 11–0 | Knight Center Miami, FL |
| Dec 28, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Brown Orange Bowl Tournament | W 115–63 | 12–0 | Knight Center Miami, FL |
| Dec 31, 1985* | No. 1 | vs. Florida State | W 109–64 | 13–0 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| Jan 4, 1986 | No. 1 | NC State Rivalry | W 90–79 | 14–0 (1–0) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 9, 1986* | No. 1 | vs. Fordham | W 92–68 | 15–0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Jan 11, 1986 | No. 1 | at Wake Forest | W 89–65 | 16–0 (2–0) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| Jan 14, 1986 | No. 1 | at Maryland | W 71–67 | 17–0 (3–0) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD |
| Jan 18, 1986 | No. 1 | No. 3 Duke Rivalry | W 95–92 | 18–0 (4–0) | Dean Smith Center (21,444) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 19, 1986* | No. 1 | at Marquette | W 66–64 | 19–0 | MECCA Arena Milwaukee, WI |
| Jan 25, 1986 | No. 1 | No. 4 Georgia Tech | W 85–77 | 20–0 (5–0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 26, 1986* | No. 1 | No. 16 Notre Dame | W 73–61 | 21–0 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 30, 1986 | No. 1 | at Virginia | L 73–86 | 21–1 (5–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| Feb 1, 1986 | No. 1 | Clemson | W 85–67 | 22–1 (6–1) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 4, 1986 | No. 1 | at No. 2 Georgia Tech | W 78–77 | 23–1 (7–1) | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 8, 1986 | No. 1 | Wake Forest | W 91–62 | 24–1 (8–1) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 12, 1986 | No. 1 | at Clemson | W 79–64 | 25–1 (9–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| Feb 20, 1986 | No. 1 | Maryland | L 72–77 | 25–2 (9–2) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 23, 1986 | No. 1 | at No. 20 NC State Rivalry | L 65–76 | 25–3 (9–3) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| Feb 26, 1986 | No. 3 | Virginia | W 85–79 | 26–3 (10–3) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Mar 2, 1986 | No. 3 | at No. 1 Duke Rivalry | L 74–82 | 26–4 (10–4) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1986* | No. 4 | Maryland ACC tournament Quarterfinal | L 75–85 | 26–5 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1986* | (3) No. 8 | vs. (14) Utah First round | W 84–72 | 27–5 | Dee Events Center Ogden, UT |
| Mar 15, 1986* | (3) No. 8 | vs. (6) UAB Second Round | W 77–59 | 28–5 | Dee Events Center Ogden, UT |
| Mar 20, 1986* | (3) No. 8 | vs. (2) No. 7 Louisville Regional semifinal | L 79–94 | 28–6 | The Summit Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||