The 2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. The head coach was Roy Williams. The team played its home games in the

Dean Smith Center The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (commonly known as the Dean Smith Center, Smith Center, or the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, used primarily as the home for the University of North Carolina at Ch ...

in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team won the

2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament in which 65 schools competed to determine the national champion of the men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball ...

, the fifth NCAA national title in school history.

Preseason

The Tar Heels were a trendy pick to win the National Championship that year, primarily because

Wayne Ellington Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. (born November 29, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the University of North Carolina from 2006 to ...

, Danny Green and Ty Lawson decided to withdraw from the 2008 NBA draft, and consensus national Player of the Year

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well ...

never declared for that draft. In addition, the players had been embarrassed in the previous season's Final Four by Kansas, and they were motivated to atone for that poor performance. In the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll the Tar Heels were ranked #1. They were the first unanimous preseason #1 ranking in the history of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. UNC also received the first unanimous preseason #1 ranking in the history of the Associated Press Poll.

Recruiting

Roster

Schedule

The Tar Heels rolled through the nonconference schedule, along the way winning the Maui Invitational for the third time. They sputtered out of the gate to start ACC play, dropping their first two conference games to Boston College and Wake Forest. However, they recovered to reel off 10 straight conference wins, including a 101–87 thrashing of rival

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

. Their only relatively close games during this stretch came against the ACC's two Florida teams—most notably against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, in which they escaped with a Ty Lawson buzzer-beater. They lost to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in overtime, but recovered to win their last three games. A win over

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

gave the Tar Heels at least a share of their 27th regular season title (which are not recognized by the ACC as official championships; the tournament winner is declared champion), and third in a row. They won the title outright with a season-ending win over Duke. The ACC tournament did not go nearly as well, largely because Ty Lawson was sidelined with an injured big toe. They needed a last-minute score to defeat Virginia Tech, then fell to Florida State in the second round. Still, the Tar Heels were rewarded with the #2 ranking in the final AP Poll, behind

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. They also finished third in the final regular-season Coaches Poll, behind Louisville and

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. Despite not making it to the ACC title game, the Tar Heels received the top seed in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

South Region. It was the 13th time the Tar Heels had been selected as a #1 seed—the most since the NCAA began seeding the tournament field in 1979. It is also UNC's 41st NCAA appearance—tied with

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

for the second-most in history. The Tar Heels played their first- and second-round games at the

Greensboro Coliseum The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, commonly referred to as Greensboro Coliseum (the first and biggest building on the site), is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight ven ...

, just an hour west of Chapel Hill. They easily dispatched Radford and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

to advance to the regionals at the

FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ...

. In the regional round, the Heels dismantled Gonzaga 93–77. In the regional final, they defeated Oklahoma 72–60 to advance to the Final Four for the 18th time in school history—tied with UCLA for the most ever. The wins in the regional phase were also the school's 100th and 101st wins in the NCAA Tournament, passing

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

for most all-time, although Kentucky has reclaimed the top spot as of 2019. The Tar Heels were the highest seed to reach the Final Four at Ford Field in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

; they were the overall #3 seed in the tournament behind Louisville and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. In the national semifinal, the Tar Heels pounded Villanova 83–69 to advance to the national championship game for the ninth time in school history. They played against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, whom the Tar Heels defeated 98–63 during the December 2008 ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They were no less dominant in the title game, winning 89–72 for the school's fifth NCAA national title—tied for the third-most all-time. The win capped off one of the most dominant runs in the tournament's history. The Tar Heels won every game by at least 12 points—a feat all the more remarkable since they upended four teams ranked in the top 15 of the final AP Poll in the process (#10 Gonzaga, #7 Oklahoma, #11 Villanova and #8 Michigan State). They also led for all but 10 minutes of a possible 240 minutes of game time. It also allowed Tyler Hansbrough and his fellow seniors to end their careers as the winningest class in school history. Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the fourth Tar Heel to earn the award. , - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition games , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, ACC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...