The 2020–21 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 ...

during the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020 and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The team was coached by Roy Williams, who was in his 18th and final season as UNC's head men's basketball coach. The Tar Heels played their home games at 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 as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the 18–11, 10–6 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated Notre Dame and

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 ...

, before losing to

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 the semifinals. North Carolina received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region. They lost in the first round to 9th-seeded

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. On February 27, 2021, Roy Williams won his 900th career game in a win over Florida State, becoming the 5th and fastest Division I men's head coach to reach the milestone. On March 6, 2021, UNC completed a season sweep over 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 ...

in a 91–73 win. Following the win, Roy Williams kissed the Smith Center court, causing speculation of possible retirement. Williams later said it was because of the team's 10–1 home record. Following the season, Williams announced he was retiring after 18 years as head coach of North Carolina and 33 years of coaching. Several days later, the school named assistant coach

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 19 ...

as the team's new head coach.

Previous season

The

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

finished the 2019–20 season 14–19, 6–14 in ACC play to finish in three-way tie for last place. As the No. 14 seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated

before losing to Syracuse in the second round. Though the Tar Heels were ineligible for postseason play due to their record, all postseason tournaments, including the remainder of the ACC Tournament, the NCAA tournament, and NIT were canceled due to the pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

2020 recruiting class

2021 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, ACC Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, ACC tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament Source:

Rankings

On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This broke a 59-year streak and marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that the powerhouse trio of Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking. ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball 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 ...

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 ...