1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team


The 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1992-93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 34-4 overall, won the ACC regular season title with a 14-2 record and won the 1993 national championship. They were coached by Dean Smith, who won his second national championship in his thirty-second season as head coach of the Tar Heels. They played their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Season summary

The 1992-93 team was led by George Lynch, Eric Montross, Brian Reese, Donald Williams, and Derrick Phelps. The Tar Heels started out with an 8-0 record and were ranked #5 in the country when they met #6 Michigan in the semi-finals of the Rainbow Classic. The Wolverines, led by the Fab Five in their sophomore season, won 79-78 to on a last-second shot. North Carolina bounced back with nine straight wins before losing back-to-back road games against unranked Wake Forest and #5 Duke. After seven more straight wins, the Tar Heels were ranked #1 heading into the last week of the regular season. North Carolina beat #14 Wake Forest and #6 Duke to close out the regular season and clinch the top seed in the ACC tournament. North Carolina reached the tournament final, but they lost 77-75 to Georgia Tech without Derrick Phelps who was injured. Nonetheless, North Carolina was awarded the top seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, defeating #16-seed East Carolina, #8-seed Rhode Island, #4-seed Arkansas, and #2-seed Cincinnati to reach the final four in New Orleans.
In the national semi-finals, Smith's Tar Heels defeated his alma mater Kansas 78-68, setting up a rematch with #3-ranked Michigan in the finals.
The national title game was a see-saw battle throughout, but is remembered best for Chris Webber's time out call with seconds left when Michigan didn't have any. Michigan was assessed a technical foul and North Carolina ended up winning 77-71, giving Smith his second national championship.

Personnel

Schedule

Awards and honors

and Derrick Phelps also went on to play in the NBA, but were undrafted.