2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
The 2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, coached by Roy Williams, played at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill as part of the ACC. They finished 34-4 overall, 13-3 in the ACC, and won the national championship by beating Michigan State 89-72 in the final. It was UNC’s fifth NCAA title and is often regarded as one of the greatest college teams. The Tar Heels started the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls and won the Maui Invitational.
The season had a strong start but a rough patch in ACC play, with losses to Boston College and Wake Forest early. They recovered with a 10-game ACC win streak, highlighted by a 101-87 win over Duke. They finished the regular season as ACC co-champions and won the outright ACC title with a season-ending win over Duke. Ty Lawson’s toe injury hampered them in the ACC tournament, where they beat Virginia Tech in a close game but lost to Florida State in the second round.
In the NCAA tournament, UNC earned a No. 1 seed in the South region and reached the Final Four for the 18th time. They defeated Gonzaga (93-77) and Oklahoma (72-60) in the regional rounds, then Villanova 83-69 in the semifinals before a dominant 89-72 win over Michigan State in the final. Wayne Ellington was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The senior class, led by Tyler Hansbrough, left as the winningest in school history.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:31 (CET).