The Tar Heels began the season ranked nineteenth in the nation, and progressed up the rankings to fourteenth after three straight wins. It was with that ranking that they entered their early-season tournament, the Battle 4 Atlantis. They won their first game against Northern Iowa before losing in overtime to Villanova. They defeated twentieth-ranked Arkansas to finish in third place in the tournament. They then beat tenth-ranked Tennessee in the ACC–SEC Challenge and won their ACC opener over Florida State. They were defeated by eventual national champion, then fifth-ranked UConn in the Jimmy V Classic and lost a rivalry match to fourteenth-ranked Kentucky. They defeated seventh-ranked Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational to move up to ninth in the rankings. The defeat of Oklahoma started a string of ten straight wins for the team, including rivalry wins over NC State and Wake Forest and a ten-point defeat of sixteenth-ranked Clemson. At the end of the streak, the team reached its highest ranking during the season, third. The Tar Heels had a rough stretch after that, winning only two of their next five games. However, one of those two wins was against bitter rival, and seventh-ranked Duke. The team won its last six games including rivalry re-matches with NC State and ninth-ranked Duke.
The Tar Heels finished the season 29–8 and 17–3 in ACC play to finish as regular season champions. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye to the Quarterfinals, where they defeated ninth seed Florida State. They defeated Pittsburgh in the Semifinals, but could not overcome NC State for a third time in the season in the Final. They lost 76–84 to finish as runner-up. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed as a first seed in the West region. They defeated sixteenth-seed Wagner in the First Round, and ninth-seed Michigan State in the Second Round before falling to fourth-seed Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season.
After starters Caleb Love, R. J. Davis, Armando Bacot, and Leaky Black, who had been key pieces in the 2021–22 team's National Runner-Up finish, decided to return for the 2022–23 season, the Tar Heels earned the No. 1 ranking in the preseason AP Poll. Despite the lofty expectations and desires to win the championship that had narrowly eluded them the season prior, the 2022–23 Tar Heels struggled mightily, finishing the season 20–13 (11–9 in conference play) and missing the NCAA tournament altogether. The 2022–23 team became the first preseason No. 1 to miss the NCAA tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. After missing the "big dance," the Tar Heels issued a statement declining a bid for the NIT.[2]
Bacot, despite battling ankle and shoulder injuries that caused him to miss some time, proved to be one of the lone bright spots on the season, as neither Love, Davis, nor Black returned to their form from the 2022 tournament run. Bacot set all-time program records for career double-doubles by passing Billy Cunningham's school record of 61, and he also became the all-time leading rebounder in program history by passing Tyler Hansbrough's record as well.[3]
Offseason
After declining a bid to the NIT, the offseason began sooner than many in Chapel Hill had expected. On March 13, 2023, the Transfer Portal officially opened, and like many other programs, the Tar Heels immediately lost players, with first-year reserve forward Tyler Nickel[4] and senior Justin McKoy[5] both entering the portal. Nickel transferred to Virginia Tech, and McKoy chose to spend his final season of eligibility at Hawaii.[6][7]
Following Nickel and McKoy, sophomore guard/forward Dontrez Styles announced his intentions to leave the Tar Heels and enter the transfer portal.[8] He committed to Georgetown in April.[9]
Puff Johnson also entered his name into the transfer portal, on March 22, 2023.[10] He later committed to Penn State.[11]
Leaky Black and Pete Nance, who had both used their extra year of eligibility provided by the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2022–23 season also left the team, as both had their eligibility expire after using their fifth-year options.
Later that week, both R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot announced their decisions to return for another season in Chapel Hill.[12][13]
Reserve forward Will Shaver announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on March 25, 2023.[14] After originally committing to Belmont, Shaver announced in a tweet that he had reopened his transfer recruitment.[15] He later committed to UAB, deciding to return to his hometown of Birmingham.[16]
After much speculation as to what his future would hold, Caleb Love decided to enter the transfer portal and play his senior season elsewhere.[17] Love originally committed to Michigan,[18] but decommitted after reported issues with transfer credits.[19] He later announced his commitment to Arizona, reuniting with former Tar Heel assistant Steve Robinson, who is currently an assistant at Arizona.[20]
The Tar Heels sought to fill these departures by utilizing the transfer portal to bring in new players. They received their first commitment when former Brown guard Paxson Wojcik committed to the Tar Heels for his final season of eligibility.[21] He is the son of Doug Wojcik, who was an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 2000–2003 under Matt Doherty.
The team received its second transfer portal commitment in April, as former Louisville forward, and Charlotte native, Jae'Lyn Withers announced his decision to return to his home state and transfer to Carolina.[22]
Later in the month, former Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan committed to the Tar Heels following an official visit to Chapel Hill.[23]
Coach Davis' Tar Heels received another portal commitment on April 22, when former Stanford wing Harrison Ingram, the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, committed to the Tar Heels.[24]
On May 11, sophomore guard D'Marco Dunn entered the transfer portal.[25]
Also in May, guard Elliot Cadeau, who had been committed to the Tar Heels as part of their 2024 recruiting class, announced his intentions to reclassify and head to Chapel Hill for the 2023-24 season.[26]
After a few months of relative quiet, the Tar Heels received another transfer portal commitment in July, when former West Virginia reserve big man James Okonkwo committed to the team.[27]
