1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina Tar Heels interlocking blue logo.png 100px Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 6 6 29–8 10–4 Dean Smith 20th Bill Guthridge 14th Eddie Fogler 10th Roy Williams 3rd Carmichael Auditorium NCAA tournament, Runner-upACC tournament champions National Championship Game L Lost 50-63 vs. Indiana The 1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented University of North Carolina. Led by senior guard-forward Al Wood, it won the 1981 ACC Tournament and reached the championship of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Indiana 63–50. The head coach was Dean Smith. The team played its home games at Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Roster 1980 North Carolina Tar Heels y Jeb Barlow 43 F 6 7 207 Jr Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Jimmy Black y basketball 21 G 6 2 157 Jr Bronx, New York Jim Braddock 24 G 6 1 165 So Chattanooga, Tennessee Chris Brust 45 C 6 8 218 Jr Babylon, New York Pete Budko 34 C 6 9 226 Sr Lutherville, Maryland Matt Doherty y basketball 44 F 6 7 208 Fr East Meadow, New York Cecil Exum y 50 G 6 5 192 Fr Dudley, North Carolina Eric Kenny 32 F 6 6 216 Sr Asheville, North Carolina Timo Makkonen 51 C 6 11 203 Fr Lahti, Finland Mike Pepper 11 G 6 3 184 Sr Vienna, Virginia Sam Perkins y 41 C 6 9 220 Fr Latham, New York Dean Shaffer 33 G 6 4 194 Fr Durham, North Carolina Al Wood y 30 F 6 6 193 Sr Gray, Georgia James Worthy y 52 F 6 9 224 So Gastonia, North Carolina Dean Smith (Kansas) Bill Guthridge (Kansas State) Eddie Fogler (North Carolina) Roy Williams (North Carolina) 1981 NCAA Final Four program March 1981 Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| Regular Season Nov 28, 1980 yes yes 13 1980 men Alaska Anchorage Seawolves Alaska Anchorage Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska Great Alaska Shootout 69–50 1–0 Nov 29, 1980 yes yes 13 Georgetown 16 Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska Great Alaska Shootout 83–71 2–0 Nov 30, 1980 yes yes 13 Arkansas 20 Buckner Fieldhouse Anchorage, Alaska Great Alaska Shootout 64–58 3–0 Dec 2, 1980 yes 10 Mercer Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 89–74 4–0 Dec 5, 1980 yes yes 10 Duke Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina Big Four Tournament 78–76 5–0 Dec 6, 1980 yes yes 10 Wake Forest Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina Big Four Tournament 71–82 5–1 Dec 13, 1980 yes 1980 men South Florida Bulls South Florida Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 73–64 6–1 Dec 20, 1980 yes 8 Indiana 11 Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 65–56 7–1 Dec 22, 1980 yes Rutgers Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 71–64 8–1 Dec 29, 1980 yes yes 6 Louisville L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California Winston Tire Classic 86–64 9–1 Dec 30, 1980 yes yes 6 Minnesota L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California Winston Tire Classic 60–76 9–2 Jan 3, 1981 yes yes 6 Kansas Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri 55–56 9–3 Jan 7, 1981 16 Maryland 8 Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 75–66 10–3 1–0 Jan 10, 1981 yes 16 Virginia 3 University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia 57–63 10–4 1–1 Jan 14, 1981 17 NC State Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 73–70 11–4 2–1 Jan 17, 1981 17 Duke Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina Rivalry 80–65 10,000 12–4 3–1 Jan 22, 1981 yes 17 Wake Forest 3 Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 74–60 13–4 4–1 Jan 24, 1981 17 1980 men Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 100–60 14–4 5–1 Jan 28, 1981 yes 12 Clemson Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina 61–47 15–4 6–1 Jan 31, 1981 yes 12 NC State Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina 57–54 16–4 7–1 Feb 3, 1981 11 Virginia 1 Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 79–80 OT 10,000 16–5 7–2 Feb 6, 1981 yes 11 Saint Joseph's Charlotte, North Carolina North-South Doubleheaders 87–64 17–5 Feb 7, 1981 yes 11 1980 men Furman Paladins Furman Charlotte, North Carolina North-South Doubleheaders 79–64 18–5 Feb 11, 1981 10 Wake Forest 7 Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 68–84 18–6 7–3 Feb 15, 1981 yes 10 Maryland 19 Cole Field House College Park, Maryland 76–63 19–6 8–3 Feb 18, 1981 yes yes 13 1980 men William & Mary Tribe William & Mary Kaplan Arena Williamsburg, Virginia 81–55 20–6 Feb 21, 1981 13 Clemson Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina 75–61 21–6 9–3 Feb 25, 1981 yes 11 Georgia Tech Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia 75–61 22–6 10–3 Feb 28, 1981 yes 11 Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina 65–66 OT 22–7 10–4 |- !colspan=9 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| ACC Tournament Mar 5, 1981 yes yes 12 2 NC State 7 Capital Centre Landover, Maryland Quarterfinals 69–54 23–7 Mar 6, 1981 yes yes 12 2 Wake Forest 11 3 Capital Centre Landover, Maryland Semifinals 58–57 24–7 Mar 7, 1981 yes yes 12 2 Maryland 20 4 Capital Centre Landover, Maryland Championship game 61–60 25–7 |- !colspan=9 style=North Carolina Tar Heels| NCAA Tournament Mar 15, 1981 yes yes 6 2 W Pittsburgh 10 W Special Events Center El Paso, Texas Second round 74–57 26–7 Mar 19, 1981 yes yes 6 2 W Utah 14 3 W Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah West Regional Semifinal Sweet Sixteen 61–56B.Y.U. Defeats Irish, 51-50; North Carolina Ousts Utah https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/20/sports/byu-defeats-irish-51-50-north-carolina-ousts-utahz.html The New York Times March 20, 1981 February 25, 2023 27–7 Mar 21, 1981 yes yes 6 2 W Kansas State 8 W Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah West Regional Final Elite Eight 82–68VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA REACH N.C.A.A. FINAL FOUR https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/22/sports/virginia-and-north-carolina-reach-ncaa-final-four-kansas-state-bows-82-68.html The New York Times March 22, 1981 February 25, 2023 28–7 Mar 28, 1981 yes yes 6 2 W Virginia 5 1 E The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National Semifinals Final Four 78–65 29–7 Mar 30, 1981 yes yes 6 2 W Indiana 9 3 ME The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National Championship 50–63 29–8 AP Poll Eastern Time W West https://www.tarheeltimes.com/schedulebasketball-1980.aspx UNC Basketball Schedule 1980-81 tarheeltimes.com July 17, 2024 NCAA basketball tournament West North Carolina 74, Pittsburgh 57 North Carolina 61, Utah 56 North Carolina 82, Kansas State 68 Final Four North Carolina 78, Virginia 65 Indiana 63, North Carolina 50 http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1981 RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More Rankings 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 877–878 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Awards and honors Sam Perkins, ACC Rookie of the Year Team players drafted into the NBA Year Round Pick Player NBA club 1981 1 4 Al Wood Atlanta Hawks 1981 5 73 Pete Budko Dallas Mavericks 1981 6 123 Mike Pepper San Diego Clippers 1982 1 1 James Worthy Los Angeles Lakers 1982 3 59 Jimmy Black New Jersey Nets 1982 6 131 Chris Brust Denver Nuggets 1982 7 153 Jeb Barlow Denver Nuggets 1983 5 107 Jim Braddock Denver Nuggets 1984 1 4 Sam Perkins Dallas Mavericks 1984 6 118 Matt Doherty Cleveland Cavaliers 1984 9 194 Cecil Exum Denver Nuggets 1985 5 104 Dean Shaffer Washington Bulletshttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1981 1981 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2012-11-05 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20121103194520/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1981&lg=N 2012-11-03 References North Carolina Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons North Carolina Tar Tar