1996–97 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 March 2019 August 2023 basketball 1996–97 North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina Tar Heels logo.svg 100 Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 4 4 28–7 11–5 Dean Smith 36th Bill Guthridge 30th Phil Ford 9th Dave Hanners 7th Dean Smith Center ACC tournament champions NCAA tournament Final Four The 1996–97 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Dean Smith in his 36th and final season at the school. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Roster 1996 North Carolina Tar Heels y y Shammond Williams y 3 G 6 3 189 JR Greenville, South Carolina Fork Union Military Makhtar N'Diaye basketball y 4 F 6 10 231 JR Dakar, Senegal Oak Hill Academy Ed Cota y 5 G 6 1 185 FR Brooklyn, New York Samuel J. Tilden Ademola Okulaja y 13 F/C 6 9 235 SO Berlin, Germany John F. Kennedy High School Vince Carter y 15 G/F 6 6 215 SO Daytona Beach, Florida Mainland High School Terrence Newby 21 G 6 2 210 FR Siler City, North Carolina Jordan-Matthews Scott Williams basketball 22 G 5 11 156 SO Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence Antawn Jamison y 33 F/C 6 9 223 SO Charlotte, North Carolina Providence Dean Smith Bill Guthridge Phil Ford Dave Hanners U.N.C. basketball blue book https://archive.org/details/uncbasketballblu20002001 Chapel Hill, NC University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2000 Schedule and results |- !colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| Regular season Nov 22, 1996 yes yes 7 Arizona 19 Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic 72–83 0–1 Nov 25, 1996 no yes 7 Richmond Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 86–75 1–1 Nov 29, 1996 no yes 14 Pittsburgh Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 82–61 2–1 Dec 2, 1996 no yes 14 Bethune-Cookman Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 106–62 3–1 Dec 6, 1996 yes yes 14 USC Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC 99–84 4–1 Dec 7, 1996 yes yes 14 South Carolina Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC 86–75 5–1 Dec 15, 1996 yes yes 11 VMI Cameron Hall Lexington, VA 105–61 6–1 Dec 18, 1996 yes yes 12 LSU Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC 67–48 7–1 Dec 20, 1996 yes yes 12 UMass Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ 83–69 8–1 Dec 22, 1996 yes yes 12 Princeton Jadwin Gymnasium Princeton, NJ 69–60 9–1 Jan 4, 1997 yes 11 Wake Forest 2 Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC 57–81 9–2 0–1 Jan 8, 1997 13 Maryland 19 Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 75–85 9–3 0–2 Jan 11, 1997 yes 13 Virginia University Hall Charlottesville, VA 63–75 9–4 0–3 Jan 15, 1997 22 1996 NC State Wolfpack NC State Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 59–56 10–4 1–3 Jan 18, 1997 22 1996 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 73–50 11–4 2–3 Jan 22, 1997 19 1996 Florida State Seminoles Florida State Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL 71–84 11–5 2–4 Jan 26, 1997 19 Clemson 2 Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 61–48 12–5 3–4 Jan 29, 1997 yes 19 Duke 12 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC 73–80 12–6 3–5 Feb 1, 1997 yes 19 Middle Tennessee Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 99–49 13–6 Feb 6, 1997 20 Florida State Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 90–62 14–6 4–5 Feb 8, 1997 20 Virginia Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 81–57 15–6 5–5 Feb 12, 1997 yes 16 NC State Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC 45–44 16–6 6–5 Feb 15, 1997 yes 16 Georgia Tech Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA 72–68 17–6 7–5 Feb 19, 1997 12 Wake Forest 4 Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 74–60 18–6 8–5 Feb 22, 1997 yes 12 Maryland 14 Cole Fieldhouse College Park, MD 93–81 19–6 9–5 Feb 26, 1997 yes 8 Clemson 12 Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC 76–69 20–6 10–5 Mar 2, 1997 8 Duke 7 Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC 91–85 21–6 11–5 |- !colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| ACC tournament Mar 7, 1997 5 3 6 Virginia Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Quarterfinals 78–68 22–6 Mar 8, 1997 5 3 2 Wake Forest 8 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Semifinals 86–73 23–6 Mar 9, 1997 5 3 8 NC State Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Championship 64–54 24–6 |- !colspan=6 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| NCAA tournament Mar 13, 1997 4 1 E Fairfield 16 E Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC First round 82–74 25–6 Mar 15, 1997 4 1 E Colorado 24 9 E Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC Second Round 73–56 26–6 Mar 21, 1997 4 1 E California 5 E Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Sweet Sixteen 63–57North Carolina and Louisville Move On https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/22/sports/north-carolina-and-louisville-move-on.html The New York Times March 22, 1997 June 6, 2021 27–6 Mar 23, 1997 4 1 E Louisville 25 6 E Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY Elite Eight 97–74Mr. Smith Goes To Indianapolis https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/mar/24/mr-smith-goes-to-indianapolis-north-carolina/ The Spokesman-Review March 24, 1997 June 6, 2021 28–6 Mar 29, 1997 yes yes 1 E 4 Arizona 4 SE 15 RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN Final Four 58–66The Washington Post Arizona 66, North Carolina 58 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/final4/articles/semi97b.htm D1 March 30, 1997 March 10, 2019 28–7 AP Poll Eastern Time E East region Rankings 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball seasons North Carolina North Carolina Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons