The 2022–23 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

2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2022. The regular season will end on March 12, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning on March 14 and ending with the championship gam ...

. The team was led by

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 ...

, who was in his second year as UNC's head 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, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels, coming off a National Runner-up in the 2022 NCAA tournament, were ranked #1 in the Preseason

AP poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

, and failed to live up to the lofty expectations the ranking entailed. The team struggled offensively all season, finishing the season with the second-worst 3-point-percentage in program history. The 2022-23 Tar Heels went 1-9 in NET quad 1 games (their only Q1 victory being a home win against #6

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

). They finished the season 20–13 overall and 11–9 in ACC play, earning the 7 seed in the ACC Tournament. On Selection Sunday, the Tar Heels were not picked to be a part of the field for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and were one of the first four teams left out by the selection committee. By narrowly missing out on a spot in the tournament, the Tar Heels became the first preseason #1-ranked team to miss the tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Following the missed bid, coach Hubert Davis announced via statement that the team would decline an invite to the 2023 NIT, ending their season.

Previous season

' first year at the helm, the Tar Heels got off to a rocky start, with blowout losses to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

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 ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Wake Forest, and

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 ...

(at home). The Tar Heels rounded into form in the latter half of conference play, finishing with a 15–5 record in conference play. The Tar Heels capped the regular season with an upset win over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

's final home game. The Tar Heels earned the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in the ACC tournament. They defeated

in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions

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 ...

in the semifinals. The Tar Heels earned the No. 8 seed in the East Region of the 2022 NCAA tournament. In the tournament, they beat Marquette and upset No. 1 seed in Baylor to earn North Carolina's 35th Sweet Sixteen appearance of all time. The Tar Heels upset No. 4 seed

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 ...

and beat "Cinderella" team Saint Peter's in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels earned a record 21st Final Four appearance, where they beat the Blue Devils in the first-ever NCAA Tournament matchup between the rival schools, 81–77, before falling 69–72 against Kansas in the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

game. Starters

Brady Manek Brady Reece Manek (born September 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Ear ...

Armando Bacot Armando Linwood Bacot Jr. (born March 6, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He holds the program records for double-doubles and career rebounds. High school ca ...

, Caleb Love, R. J. Davis, and

Leaky Black Rechon Malik "Leaky" Black (born June 14, 1999) is an American basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He played collegiately fo ...

earned the nickname "The Iron 5" for their togetherness and strong play as a unit throughout the season, and for the fact they played a large amount of the team's minutes throughout the campaign. Against Duke in Durham, Bacot, Love, Davis, and Manek each scored twenty-plus points in a game, the first time four players went for twenty or more in one game in Carolina basketball history. Head coach Davis became only the second person in history to take the same school to the Final Four as both a player and a coach, joining Kansas' Dick Harp. Davis also became the 10th first-year head coach in history to take his team to the Final Four.

Offseason

After the conclusion of the 2021–22 season, Anthony Harris and

Dawson Garcia Dawson Lee Garcia (born September 20, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Marquette Golden Eagles and the North Carolina Tar Heels. High school c ...

entered the transfer portal. Garcia announced he would transfer to Minnesota to be closer with family in the wake of the family issues that forced him to miss the latter half of the previous season. Brady Manek also left the team, as the previous season was his final year of collegiate eligibility. Manek had taken advantage of the extra year given out by the NCAA in response to COVID-19 to play for the Tar Heels in 2021–22. Harris committed to transfer to

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

in May, but is unable to enroll at URI due to reported academic issues. Guard Kerwin Walton also announced plans to transfer on May 1, 2022, the last day to enter the portal and maintain eligibility for the following season. After speculation that he would turn pro and enter the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

, Armando Bacot confirmed his return in a video for the 2022–23 season on April 13, 2022. A few days later, Leaky Black, R. J. Davis and Caleb Love similarly announced their intentions to return for the 2022–23 season. On June 18, former Northwestern forward Pete Nance announced that he had committed to North Carolina, completing their roster for the 2022–23 season.

Departures

Incoming Transfers

2022 Recruiting class

† Shaver, a member of the 2022 recruiting class, enrolled early and redshirted during the second half of the 2021–22 season.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, ACC Tournament

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball seasons

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 The North Carolina Tar Heels Men's basketball program is the college basketball team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have won six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships (1957, 1982, 1993 ...