1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
The 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team from the University of North Carolina won the national championship. They finished 34–4 overall and 14–2 in the ACC, winning the ACC regular-season title. Dean Smith was their head coach in his 32nd season, and they played home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
Key players included George Lynch, Eric Montross, Brian Reese, Donald Williams, and Derrick Phelps. The Tar Heels opened 8–0 and were ranked No. 5 when they lost a heartbreaker to Michigan 79–78 in the Rainbow Classic semifinal on a last-second shot. They then won nine straight, followed by two straight road losses to Wake Forest and Duke. After seven more wins, UNC moved to No. 1 in the rankings heading into the final week of the regular season. They finished strong by beating Wake Forest and Duke to clinch the top seed in the ACC tournament, but lost the final 77–75 to Georgia Tech without Derrick Phelps.
In the NCAA tournament, UNC was the East region’s top seed. They defeated East Carolina (85–65), Rhode Island (112–67), Arkansas (80–74), and Cincinnati (75–68) to reach the Final Four in New Orleans. In the semifinals, they beat Kansas 78–68, setting up a rematch with Michigan in the final. The national title game was a back-and-forth affair and is remembered for Chris Webber’s late timeout call with no timeouts left; Michigan was charged with a technical foul, and North Carolina won 77–71. It was Smith’s second national championship as coach.
Some players, including Derrick Phelps, later played in the NBA, with Kevin Salvadori and Matt Wenstrom also reaching the league, though they were undrafted.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:00 (CET).