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

1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; ACC regular season champions
National Championship Game, ; W 77-71 vs. Michigan
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 4
Record	34–4 (14–2, 1st ACC)
Head coach	Dean Smith (32nd season);
Assistant coaches	Bill Guthridge (26th season); Phil Ford (5th season); Dave Hanners (4th season);
Home arena	Dean Smith Center
	Seasons ← 1991–92 1993–94 →

1992–93 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 North Carolina	14	–	2	.875	34	–	4	.895
No. 11 Florida State	12	–	4	.750	25	–	10	.714
No. 10 Duke	10	–	6	.625	24	–	8	.750
No. 16 Wake Forest	10	–	6	.625	21	–	9	.700
Virginia	9	–	7	.563	21	–	10	.677
No. 18 Georgia Tech †	8	–	8	.500	19	–	11	.633
Clemson	5	–	11	.313	17	–	13	.567
Maryland	2	–	14	.125	12	–	16	.429
NC State	2	–	14	.125	8	–	19	.296

† 1993 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

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 (their first #1 ranking since the start of the 1987–88 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 (85–65), #8-seed Rhode Island (112–67), #4-seed Arkansas (80–74), and #2-seed Cincinnati (75–68) to reach the final four in New Orleans.

In the national semi-finals, Smith's Tar Heels defeated his alma mater Kansas (coached by future North Carolina coach Roy Williams) 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.^[1]

Personnel

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

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	24	Dante Calabria	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Fr	Beaver Falls, PA
G/F	11	Scott Cherry	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr	Ballston Spa, NY
G	4	Larry Davis	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Fr	Denmark, SC
F	40	Ed Geth	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Fr	Norfolk, VA
F	34	George Lynch	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr	Roanoke, VA
C	00	Eric Montross	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	—	Jr	Indianapolis, IN
G	14	Derrick Phelps	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr	Pleasantville, NY
F	31	Brian Reese	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Jr	Bronx, NY
F	5	Henrik Rödl	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr	Heusenstamm, Germany
F/C	33	Kevin Salvadori	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	—	Jr	Pittsburgh, PA
F	35	Travis Stephenson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Angier, NC
F	3	Pat Sullivan	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Jr	Bogota, NJ
C	50	Matt Wenstrom	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	—	Sr	Katy, TX
G	21	Donald Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	So	Garner, NC

Head coach

Dean Smith

Assistant coach(es)

Phil Ford
Bill Guthridge
Dave Hanners

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
December 1, 1992*	No. 7	Old Dominion	W 119–82	1–0	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
December 4, 1992*	No. 7	vs. South Carolina Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions	W 108–67	2–0	–	–	–	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
December 5, 1992*	No. 7	vs. Texas Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions	W 104–68	3–0	–	–	–	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
December 9, 1992*	No. 5	vs. Virginia Tech	W 78–62	4–0	–	–	–	Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, VA
December 13, 1992*	No. 5	Houston	W 84–76	5–0	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
December 20, 1992*	No. 5	at Butler	W 103–56	6–0	–	–	–	Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
December 22, 1992*	No. 5	at Ohio State	W 84–64	7–0	–	–	–	St. John Arena Columbus, OH
December 28, 1992*	No. 5	vs. SW Louisiana Rainbow Classic	W 80–59	8–0	–	–	–	Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI
December 29, 1992*	No. 5	No. 6 Michigan Rainbow Classic	L 78–79	8–1	–	–	–	Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI
December 30, 1992*	No. 5	at Hawaii	W 101–84	9–1	–	–	–	Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI
January 4, 1993*	No. 5	Cornell	W 98–60	10–1	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 7, 1993	No. 6	at NC State Rivalry	W 100–67	11–1 (1–0)	–	–	–	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC
January 9, 1993	No. 6	Maryland	W 101–73	12–1 (2–0)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 13, 1993	No. 5	No. 8 Georgia Tech	W 80–67	13–1 (3–0)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 16, 1993	No. 5	at Clemson	W 82–72	14–1 (4–0)	–	–	–	Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC
January 20, 1993	No. 3	No. 17 Virginia	W 80–58	15–1 (5–0)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 24, 1993*	No. 3	at No. 10 Seton Hall	W 70–66	16–1	–	–	–	Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey
January 27, 1993	No. 3	No. 19 Florida State	W 82–77	17–1 (6–0)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 30, 1993	No. 3	at Wake Forest	L 62–88	17–2 (6–1)	–	–	–	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
February 3, 1993	No. 6	at No. 5 Duke Rivalry	L 67–81	17–3 (6–2)	–	–	–	Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 6, 1993	No. 6	NC State	W 104–58	18–3 (7–2)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
February 9, 1993	No. 6	at Maryland	W 77–63	19–3 (8–2)	–	–	–	Cole Field House College Park, MD
February 14, 1993	No. 6	at Georgia Tech	W 77–66	20–3 (9–2)	–	–	–	Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA
February 17, 1993	No. 3	Clemson	W 80–67	21–3 (10–2)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
February 21, 1993	No. 3	at Virginia	W 78–58	22–3 (11–2)	–	–	–	University Hall Charlottesville, VA
February 23, 1993*	No. 3	Notre Dame	W 85–56	23–3	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
February 27, 1993	No. 3	at No. 6 Florida State	W 86–76	24–3 (12–2)	–	–	–	Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Tallahassee, FL
March 3, 1993	No. 1	No. 14 Wake Forest	W 83–65	25–3 (13–2)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
March 7, 1993	No. 1	No. 6 Duke	W 83–69	26–3 (14–2)	–	–	–	Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
ACC tournament
March 12, 1993*	No. 1	vs. Maryland ACC Tournament • Quarterfinals	W 102–66	27–3	–	–	–	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
March 13, 1993*	No. 1	vs. Virginia ACC Tournament • Semifinals	W 74–56	28–3	–	–	–	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
March 14, 1993*	No. 1	vs. Georgia Tech ACC Tournament • Final	L 75–77	28–4	–	–	–	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
NCAA tournament
March 18, 1993*	(E1) No. 4	vs. (E16) East Carolina NCAA Tournament • First round	W 85–65^[2]	29–4	–	–	–	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
March 20, 1993*	(E1) No. 4	vs. (E8) Rhode Island NCAA Tournament • Second Round	W 112–67	30–4	–	–	–	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
March 26, 1993*	(E1) No. 4	vs. (E4) No. 12 Arkansas NCAA Tournament • Regional semifinals	W 80–74	31–4	–	–	–	Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ
March 28, 1993*	(E1) No. 4	vs. (E2) No. 7 Cincinnati NCAA Tournament • Regional Final	W 75–68 ^{OT^[3]}	32–4	–	–	–	Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ
April 3, 1993* CBS	(E1) No. 4	vs. (MW2) No. 9 Kansas NCAA Tournament • National semifinals	W 78–68	33–4	–	–	–	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA
April 5, 1993* CBS	(E1) No. 4	vs. (W1) No. 3 Michigan NCAA Tournament • National Final	W 77–71	34–4	25 – Williams	10 – Lynch	6 – Phelps	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

^[4]^[5]

Awards and honors

Dean Smith, Naismith College Coach of the Year
Donald Williams, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[6]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1993	1	12	George Lynch	Los Angeles Lakers^[7]
1994	1	9	Eric Montross	Boston Celtics^[8]

Kevin Salvadori,^[9] Matt Wenstrom^[10] and Derrick Phelps^[11] also went on to play in the NBA, but were undrafted.

References

^ Adam Lucas (March 30, 2003). "THM: Looking Back At 1993". Tar Heel Monthly. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
^ "Smith Gets 50th Tournament Win as North Carolina Romps, 85-65". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1993. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
^ "Tar Heels Require Outside Help". The Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1993. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
^ 2014-15 North Carolina men's basketball record book Archived 2015-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.
^ BB State Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.
^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
^ 1993 NBA draft, Basketball-Reference.com
^ 1994 NBA draft, Basketball-Reference.com
^ "Kevin Salvadori Stats". Basketball Reference.
^ "Matt Wenstrom Stats". Basketball Reference.
^ "Derrick Phelps Stats". Basketball Reference.

[1993champ-1] Adam Lucas (March 30, 2003). "THM: Looking Back At 1993". Tar Heel Monthly. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.

[2] "Smith Gets 50th Tournament Win as North Carolina Romps, 85-65". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1993. Retrieved June 5, 2022.

[3] "Tar Heels Require Outside Help". The Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1993. Retrieved June 17, 2021.

[4] 2014-15 North Carolina men's basketball record book Archived 2015-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.

[5] BB State Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.

[Tourney_History-6] "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

[7] 1993 NBA draft, Basketball-Reference.com

[8] 1994 NBA draft, Basketball-Reference.com

[9] "Kevin Salvadori Stats". Basketball Reference.

[10] "Matt Wenstrom Stats". Basketball Reference.

[11] "Derrick Phelps Stats". Basketball Reference.

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v t e North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
Venues	Bynum Gymnasium (1910–1923) Tin Can (1924–1938) Woollen Gymnasium (1938–1965) Carmichael Auditorium (1965–1986) Dean Smith Center (1986–present)
Rivalries	Duke (Carlyle Cup) Kentucky NC State Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Rameses The Marching Tar Heels Junior varsity team Inside Carolina Four corners offense Blue blood status Dixie Classic/Big Four Jumpman Invitational Tobacco Road Academic-athletic scandal Gambling scandal
People	Head coaches Honorees Honored players NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics