# 1988–89 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1988–89 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Led by head coach Dean Smith, the Tar Heels completed yet another in a long line of impressive seasons, with 29 wins, a top ten ranking, and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 18, 1988* | No. 6 | Chattanooga Preseason NIT | W 111–84 | 1–0 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Nov 19, 1988* | No. 6 | Georgia Preseason NIT | W 99–91 | 2–0 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Nov 20, 1988* | No. 5 | vs. No. 14 Missouri Preseason NIT | L 81–91 | 2–1 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Nov 25, 1988* | No. 5 | vs. No. 20 Indiana Preseason NIT Consolation | W 106–92 | 3–1 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Nov 28, 1988* | No. 5 | Stanford | W 87–76 | 4–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 2, 1988* | No. 10 | vs. No. 11 Arizona Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions | W 79–72 | 5–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 3, 1988* | No. 10 | vs. No. 8 Missouri Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions | W 76–60 | 6–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 7, 1988* | No. 8 | Vanderbilt | W 89–77 | 7–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 10, 1988* | No. 8 | vs. Richmond | W 76–68 | 8–1 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Dec 17, 1988* | No. 8 | No. 20 UCLA | W 104–78 | 9–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Dec 22, 1988* | No. 8 | vs. Towson State | W 102–74 | 10–1 | HersheyPark Arena Hershey, PA |
| Dec 29, 1988* | No. 7 | at San Diego State | W 103–92 | 11–1 | Peterson Gym San Diego, California |
| Jan 3, 1989* | No. 6 | at Pepperdine | W 102–80 | 12–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 5, 1989* | No. 6 | at DePaul | W 87–67 | 13–1 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 7, 1989* | No. 6 | No. 9 Iowa | L 97–98 | 13–2 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1989 | No. 8 | Maryland | W 88–72 | 14–2 (1–0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 15, 1989 | No. 8 | at Virginia | L 83–106 | 14–3 (1–1) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan 18, 1989 | No. 13 | at No. 1 Duke | W 91–71 | 15–3 (2–1) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Jan 21, 1989 | No. 13 | No. 15 NC State | W 84–81 | 16–3 (3–1) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 25, 1989 | No. 7 | at Wake Forest | W 88–74 | 17–3 (4–1) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 28, 1989 | No. 7 | Georgia Tech | W 92–85 | 18–3 (5–1) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 1, 1989 | No. 3 | at Clemson | L 82–85 | 18–4 (5–2) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Feb 9, 1989 | No. 6 | at No. 17 NC State | L 88–98 | 18–5 (5–3) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 12, 1989 | No. 6 | Virginia | W 85–67 | 19–5 (6–3) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 14, 1989* | No. 8 | at Old Dominion | W 87–77 | 20–5 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Feb 16, 1989 | No. 8 | Wake Forest | W 99–76 | 21–5 (7–3) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 19, 1989 | No. 8 | at Maryland | W 86–75 | 22–5 (8–3) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Feb 21, 1989* | No. 5 | Nevada | W 109–86 | 23–5 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 25, 1989 | No. 5 | Clemson | W 100–86 | 24–5 (9–3) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Mar 1, 1989 | No. 5 | at Georgia Tech | L 74–76 | 24–6 (9–4) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 5, 1989 | No. 5 | No. 9 Duke | L 86–88 | 24–7 (9–5) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 1989* | No. 9 | at Georgia Tech ACC Tournament Quarterfinal | W 77–62 | 25–7 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 11, 1989* | No. 9 | vs. Maryland ACC Tournament Semifinal | W 88–58 | 26–7 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 12, 1989* | No. 9 | vs. No. 7 Duke ACC tournament championship | W 77–74 | 27–7 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1989* | (2 SE) No. 5 | vs. (15 SE) Southern First round | W 93–79 | 28–7 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 19, 1989* | (2 SE) No. 5 | vs. (7 SE) UCLA Second Round | W 88–81 | 29–7 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 23, 1989* | (2 SE) No. 5 | vs. (3 SE) No. 10 Michigan Southeast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 87–92 | 29–8 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 5 | J. R. Reid | Charlotte Hornets |