North Carolina Basketball History: NCAA Tournament Champions, Best Players and Coaches

Everybody aims to be a college basketball “blue-blood.”

North Carolina basketball is one of the precious few with an indisputable claim to the title.

The Tar Heels are a magic name in the sport. Entering the 2024-25 season, UNC has won 6 NCAA Tournament titles. Only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8) have won more. Their rich coaching history includes three Naismith Hall of Famers: Frank McGuire, Dean Smith and Roy Williams.

And, of course, Michael Jordan played for the Tar Heels and helped Smith win his first national championship in 1982. Jordan hit one of the biggest shots in NCAA Tournament history to help beat Georgetown in the final. SDS built a searchable database of Jordan’s stats: The exclusive, interactive Michael Jordan college stats database has every stat from every game he played at UNC.

Let’s take a deeper look at the Tar Heels’ storied college basketball history.

How Many Times Has UNC Won The NCAA Tournament?

The Tar Heels have won the NCAA Tournament six times: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017.

How Many Times Has UNC Been to The Final Four?

Entering the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina has advanced to the Final Four 21 times — more than any men’s college basketball program in the country. Its most recent Final Four appearance came in 2022.

How Many Times Has UNC Won The ACC Tournament?

Entering the 2024-25 season, the Tar Heels have won the ACC Tournament 18 times (1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2016).

UNC’s National Championship Teams

Here’s a brief look at the six championship teams and how they conquered March Madness.

2017: 33-7, ACC regular-season champion, NCAA champion

2017 NCAA Tournament path: UNC was the No. 1 seed in the South Region.

• Round 1: defeated No. 16 seed Texas Southern 103-64
• Round 2: defeated No. 8 seed Arkansas 72-65
• Sweet 16: defeated No. 4 seed Butler 92-80
• Elite Eight: defeated No. 2 seed Kentucky 75-73
• Final Four: defeated No. 3 seed Oregon 77-76
• Championship: defeated No. 1 seed Gonzaga 71-65

Season in review: The 2016 Tar Heels lost the NCAA Tournament championship game in heartbreaking fashion, when Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit the greatest buzzer-beater in March Madness history. UNC’s stars returned with a nickname “Redeem Team” and preceded to win the ACC regular-season title. The lineup featured four future NBA players, led by Justin Jackson. Kennedy Meeks didn’t make the NBA, but he was an integral part during March Madness. Guard Joel Berry was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The Tar Heels survived numerous close calls in the NCAA Tournament but controlled Gonzaga throughout in the national championship for their 6th crown.

2009: 34-4, ACC regular-season champion, NCAA champion

2009 NCAA Tournament path: UNC was the No. 1 seed in the South Region.

• First round: defeated No. 16 seed Radford 101-58
• Second round: defeated No. 8 seed LSU 84-70
• Sweet 16: defeated No. 4 seed Gonzaga 98-77
• Elite Eight: defeated No. 2 seed Oklahoma 82-70
• Final Four: defeated No. 3 seed Villanova 83-69
• Championship: defeated No. 2 seed Michigan State 89-72

Season in review: This might have been the last great, most talented, veteran-laden March Madness champion in NCAA history. UNC’s lineup featured seven future NBA players, including four starters who were juniors or seniors. In many ways, the 2009 championship run was set in motion the previous summer when stars Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington all decided to return to Chapel Hill for one more season. Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington were all first-round NBA Draft picks later that summer, and Green was selected in the second round. Little surprise, then, that UNC ran through the regular season and won every NCAA Tournament game by at least 12 points.

2005: 33-4, ACC regular-season champion, NCAA champion

2005 NCAA Tournament path: UNC was the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

• First round: defeated No. 16 seed Oakland 96-68
• Second round: defeated No. 9 seed Iowa State 92-65
• Sweet 16: defeated No. 5 seed Villanova 66-65
• Elite Eight: defeated No. 6 seed Wisconsin 88-82
• Final Four: defeated No. 5 Michigan State 87-71
• Championship: defeated No. 1 Illinois 75-70

Season in review: This was Roy Williams’ second UNC team — and it was on a mission to erase all traces from the Matt Doherty era and an uninspiring Year 1 on Williams’ watch, when the Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament but exited in the second round. The 2004-05 team featured six future NBA players — including all five starters. All five averaged in double-figures, too. Sean May led the way and was named March Madness Most Outstanding Player. The Tar Heels relied on their experience — May, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams and Raymond Felton were juniors or seniors — to survive Villanova’s upset bid in the Sweet 16 and hold off Illinois in the championship game. It was UNC’s first NCAA championship since 1993 and first of three under Williams.

1993: 34-4, ACC regular-season champion, NCAA champion

1993 NCAA Tournament path: UNC was the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

• First round: defeated No. 16 seed East Carolina 85-65
• Second round: defeated No. 8 seed Rhode Island 112-67
• Sweet 16: defeated No. 4 seed Arkansas 80-74
• Elite Eight: defeated No. 2 seed Cincinnati 75-68
• Final Four: defeated No. 2 seed Kansas 78-68
• Championship: defeated No. 1 seed Michigan 77-71

Season in review: Bitter rival Duke won the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and 1992, spurring chatter that Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils had jumped past Dean Smith’s Tar Heels and now were the preeminent program in college basketball. And, perhaps more important to everybody in basketball-crazed North Carolina, in the state. In 1992-93, the Tar Heels responded behind future NBA players Eric Montross, George Lynch and Derrick Phelps. But an unlikely hero carried the Tar Heels to the national title. Donald Williams made 5 3-pointers, part of a 25-point night and the Heels capitalized on Chris Webber’s infamous timeout blunder to outlast Michigan and its famed Fab Five in the championship game. Williams, just a sophomore, was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

1982: 32-2, ACC regular-season champion, ACC Tournament champion, NCAA champion

1982 NCAA Tournament path: UNC was the No. 1 seed in the East Region.

• First round: Bye
• Second round: defeated No. 9 seed James Madison 52-50
• Sweet 16: defeated No. 4 seed Alabama 74-69
• Elite Eight: defeated No. 3 seed Villanova 70-60
• Final Four: defeated No. 6 seed Houston 68-63
• Championship: defeated No. 1 seed Georgetown 63-62

Season in review: Dean Smith still hadn’t won the big one, and many were wondering if he ever would. This team provided clues from the opening tip. North Carolina was young but star-laden. They opened the season ranked No. 1 — and stayed there. Famously, four starters appeared with Smith drawing his famed Four Corners offense on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college basketball preview: James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Matt Doherty and Jimmy Black. One starter didn’t: a freshman the world still called Mike Jordan. It didn’t take long before the world discovered Michael Jordan, though. In his third college game, Jordan scored 22 points. He saved his best for last, of course. After surviving Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in the Final Four, UNC took on Patrick Ewing in the championship game. Georgetown led 62-61 when Smith called timeout to set up a final play.

The Tar Heels worked the clock until Black drove and threw a skip pass to Jordan, who was open on the left wing. He caught the pass with 17 seconds left and never flinched. His 16-footer splashed through, giving UNC a 63-62 lead with 15 seconds left. Fred Brown then infamously threw a pass to Worthy, spoiling Georgetown’s bid for a game-winning shot and giving Dean Smith his long-awaited first NCAA Tournament title.

1957: 32-0, ACC regular-season champion, ACC Tournament champion, NCAA champion

1957 NCAA Tournament path: UNC entered the NCAA Tournament 27-0. There were no seeds in the 23-team tournament. Despite being ranked No. 1, the Tar Heels didn’t receive a first-round bye.

• First round: defeated Yale 90-74
• Sweet 16: defeated Canisius 87-75
• Elite Eight: defeated Syracuse 67-58
• Final Four: defeated Michigan State 74-70 (3 OT)
• Championship: defeated Kansas 54-53 (3 OT)

Season in review: The Tar Heels rose to No. 1 in the AP Poll in mid-January and stayed there the rest of the way. Led by All-American forward and eventual College Basketball Hall of Famer Lennie Rosenbluth, the Tar Heels swept through the ACC regular season but came within a few precious seconds of not even making the NCAA Tournament. Only the ACC Tournament champion received a bid, and undefeated North Carolina trailed Wake Forest by 1 in the final seconds of their semifinal game when Rosenbluth made a short jump hook, was fouled and converted the free throw for a dramatic 61-59 win. UNC dominated South Carolina in the final to secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and promptly stormed into the Final Four. Once there, the ride got bumpy. North Carolina needed 3 overtimes to outlast Michigan State to set up a clash with Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas.

In the championship game, North Carolina swarmed Chamberlain, holding him to a game-high 23 points, but Kansas had a gimmick defense for Rosenbluth, too. Rosenbluth still scored 20, but he fouled out near the end of regulation. He watched all 3 overtimes, including the final sequence when Joe Quigg made two free throws to give UNC a 54-53 win and cap Carolina’s only perfect season.

UNC’s Hall of Fame Coaches

Frank McGuire

Record at UNC: 164-58

Overall record: 549-236

NCAA Tournament titles: 1 (1957)

Dean E. Smith

Record at UNC: 879-254

Notable: Smith only coached at UNC and he retired as the winningest coach in men’s Division I college basketball history. He has since been passed. Days after winning the 1982 NCAA Tournament, North Carolina began building a new, 21,000+-seat basketball arena and named it the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. It is commonly referred to as the “Dean Dome” or “Smith Center.” The Dean Dome opened on Jan. 18, 1986. No. 1 UNC beat No. 3 Duke 95-92 in the first game.

NCAA Tournament titles: 2 (1982, 1993)

Roy Williams

Record at UNC: 485-163

Overall record: 903-264

Notable: Williams graduated from UNC but didn’t play varsity basketball. He then served as a longtime assistant for Smith until leaving to become Kansas’ coach in 1988. In 2000, following Bill Guthridge’s retirement, UNC tried to get Williams to return as the head coach. UNC hired Matt Doherty. Three years later, after firing Doherty, Smith and others asked Williams to return home to North Carolina. This time, Williams said yes — and went on to lead the Tar Heels to three more NCAA Tournament titles. In 2018, UNC named the court at the Smith Center: Roy Williams Court.

NCAA Tournament titles: 3 (2005, 2009, 2017)

UNC’s All-Time Starting Five

Nothing stirs more debate among Tar Heels fans, especially when you mix generations, than trying to determine an all-time starting lineup.

Point guard: Phil Ford

Ford was one of the biggest recruiting wins in Dean Smith’s career and helped change the dynamic between bitter rivals NC State and UNC. NC State went undefeated in 1973 but was ineligible to participate in the NCAA Tournament. In 1974, the Wolfpack won it all — ending UCLA’s 7-year NCAA championship streak in the process. Ford, who grew up in Rocky Mount, was torn between joining NC State, which returned star player David Thompson and starting point guard Monte Towe, or choosing North Carolina. Ford picked North Carolina — and as a true freshman promptly led the Tar Heels to the 1975 ACC Tournament title over Thompson-led NC State in the final. UNC took control of the series while Ford was at UNC and has maintained it ever since. Had Ford picked NC State, it’s fair to wonder whether NC State would have continued its dominance over UNC long enough to impress Michael Jordan — who grew up in Wilmington modeling his game after David Thompson. That question is one of the all-time what-ifs in this rivalry’s history.

Ford graduated in 1978 as UNC’s all-time leading scorer with 2,290 points. He has since been passed but stayed at No. 1 until 2008.

Shooting guard: Michael Jordan

Keep in mind, the Jordan who played for Dean Smith provided just a glimpse and hint of the all-time great he became in the NBA. But he was truly dominant as a Tar Heel, too. Beyond his iconic shot to beat Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Tournament championship game, Jordan was a decorated All-American who won the 1984 Naismith Award and Wooden Award.

Want more on His Airness? We built Michael Jordan’s complete UNC game log, a searchable database with every box score from Jordan’s career at UNC.

Small forward: Vince Carter

Let the debates begin: Carter vs. Lennie Rosenbluth or Antawn Jamison or Charlie Scott, etc., etc. Depending on where you want to play James Worthy, he could factor into this debate or at power forward, too.

There’s no wrong answer, but the thought of Carter and Jordan flying down on the wings receiving an alley-oop from Ford is Dream Team material.

Power forward: Tyler Hansbrough

James Worthy was all that and more at UNC, but everything he did in college, Hansbrough did better. Disregard their NBA careers. Hansbrough led UNC to the 2009 NCAA Tournament title and graduated as North Carolina’s career leader in points (2,872) and rebounds (1,219). He has since been passed in rebounds.

Center: Brad Daugherty

Center is the weakest part of any all-time UNC team, but only because there are so many other ways to mix-and-match and build a winning lineup.

Daugherty gets the edge over, say, All-American Mitch Kupchak, an undersized Armando Bacot or even Eric Montross, who helped the Tar Heels win the 1993 NCAA Tournament. Or Rasheed Wallace, who could play center, too.

Daugherty arrived after the Tar Heels won the 1982 NCAA title. He was UNC’s best player as a junior and senior and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. He and Worthy are the only 2 No. 1 overall picks in UNC basketball history.