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

1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
ACC regular season champions
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 4
Record34–4 (14–2, 1st ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaDean Smith Center
Seasons
1992–93 ACC men's basketball standings
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
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

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

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

  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.
  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.