# 1986–87 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1986–87 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 impressive season in a long line of impressive seasons, with an ACC regular season title, a top-five ranking, and a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament to show for it.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1986* | No. 1 | at Hawaii | W 98–78 | 1–0 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 1, 1986* | No. 1 | at UCLA | L 84–89 | 1–1 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Dec 3, 1986* | No. 1 | Stetson | W 100–64 | 2–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 6, 1986* | No. 1 | Miami | W 122–77 | 3–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 13, 1986* | No. 5 | Jacksonville | W 98–69 | 4–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 20, 1986* | No. 4 | No. 5 Illinois | W 90–77 | 5–1 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Dec 22, 1986* | No. 4 | Furman | W 95–65 | 6–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| Dec 27, 1986* | No. 4 | Kansas State | W 81–62 | 7–1 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| Dec 29, 1986* | No. 4 | No. 2 Purdue The Dallas Morning News Classic | W 94–81 | 8–1 | Reunion Arena Dallas, TX |
| Dec 30, 1986* | No. 4 | at Southern Methodist The Dallas Morning News Classic | W 88–86 $^{OT}$ | 9–1 | Reunion Arena Dallas, TX |
| Jan 3, 1987* | No. 4 | at La Salle | W 79–72 | 10–1 | The Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| Jan 8, 1987 | No. 3 | vs. Maryland | W 98–65 | 11–1 (1-0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 10, 1987 | No. 3 | at No. 17 Duke | W 85–77 | 12–1 (2-0) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| Jan 14, 1987 | No. 3 | at Virginia | W 95–80 | 13–1 (3-0) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| Jan 18, 1987 | No. 2 | vs. No. 17 NC State | W 96–78 | 14–1 (4-0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 22, 1987 | No. 2 | at Wake Forest | W 79–53 | 15–1 (5-0) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| Jan 24, 1987 | No. 2 | vs. Georgia Tech | W 92–55 | 16–1 (6-0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Jan 28, 1987 | No. 1 | at No. 14 Clemson | W 108–99 | 17–1 (7-0) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| Feb 1, 1987* | No. 1 | at Notre Dame | L 58–60 | 17–2 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| Feb 5, 1987 | No. 3 | at NC State | W 96–79 | 18–2 (8-0) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| Feb 8, 1987 | No. 3 | vs. Virginia | W 74–73 | 19–2 (9-0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 11, 1987 | No. 3 | vs. Wake Forest | W 94–85 | 20–2 (10-0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 14, 1987 | No. 3 | at Maryland | W 93–86 | 21–2 (11-0) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD |
| Feb 15, 1987* | No. 3 | vs. Marquette | W 83–74 | 22–2 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 18, 1987* | No. 3 | vs. East Tennessee State | W 118–65 | 23–2 | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 21, 1987 | No. 2 | vs. No. 10 Clemson | W 96–80 | 24–2 (12–0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Feb 26, 1987 | No. 2 | vs. No. 17 Duke | W 77–71 | 25–2 (13–0) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| Mar 1, 1987 | No. 2 | vs. Georgia Tech | W 92–76 | 26–2 (14–0) | The Omni Atlanta, GA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1987 | (1) No. 2 | at (8) Maryland Quarterfinals | W 82–63 | 27–2 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| Mar 7, 1987 | (1) No. 2 | vs. (4) Virginia Semifinals | W 84–82 $^{2OT}$ | 28–2 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| Mar 8, 1987 | (1) No. 2 | vs. (6) NC State Championship | L 67–68 | 28–3 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1987* | (1 E) No. 2 | vs. (16 E) Penn First round | W 113–82 | 29–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| Mar 14, 1987* | (1 E) No. 2 | vs. (9 E) Michigan Second Round | W 109–97 | 30–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| Mar 19, 1987* | (1 E) No. 2 | vs. (5 E) No. 18 Notre Dame Sweet Sixteen | W 74–68 | 31–3 | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Mar 21, 1987* | (1 E) No. 2 | vs. (2 E) No. 10 Syracuse Elite Eight | L 75–79 | 31–4 | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||