2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
2008–09 Roy Williams (6th season) | |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | Dean Smith Center |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 North Carolina | 13 | – | 3 | .813 | 34 | – | 4 | .895 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Duke† | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 30 | – | 7 | .811 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 12 Wake Forest | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 24 | – | 7 | .774 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 16 Florida State | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 24 Clemson | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 23 | – | 9 | .719 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boston College | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia Tech | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Miami (FL) | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 19 | – | 13 | .594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NC State |
6 | – | 10 | .375 | 16 | – | 14 | .533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia | 4 | – | 12 | .250 | 10 | – | 18 | .357 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Tech | 2 | – | 14 | .125 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† AP Poll
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The 2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the
Preseason
The Tar Heels were a trendy pick to win the National Championship that year, primarily because
Recruiting
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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PF
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Richmond, Virginia | Benedictine HS | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jul 18, 2007 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 | ||||||
Larry Drew II PG |
Encino, California | Woodland Hills Taft | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 23, 2007 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 | ||||||
Justin Watts SG |
Durham, North Carolina | Jordan HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 20, 2008 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 | ||||||
PF
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Washington, Indiana | Washington HS | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Jan 4, 2008 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 96 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 5 Rivals: 11 ESPN: 7 | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roy Williams
Joe Holladay Steve Robinson
Jerod Haase
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. Their only relatively close games during this stretch came against the ACC's two Florida teams—most notably against Florida State, in which they escaped with a Ty Lawson buzzer-beater.
They lost to Maryland in overtime, but recovered to win their last three games. A win over Virginia Tech 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. They also finished third in the final regular-season Coaches Poll, behind Louisville and Memphis.
Despite not making it to the ACC title game, the Tar Heels received the top seed in the NCAA 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 for the second-most in history.
The Tar Heels played their first- and second-round games at the
The Tar Heels were the highest seed to reach the Final Four at
Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the fourth Tar Heel to earn the award.
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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Exhibition games | |||||||||||
November 8* 4:00 p.m. |
No. 1 | UNC Pembroke Exhibition |
W 102–62 | 0–0 |
Dean Smith Center (18,793) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
Regular season
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November 15* 4:00 p.m., FSN
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No. 1 | Penn | W 86–71 | 1–0 |
Dean Smith Center (19,623) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
November 18* 9:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 1 | Kentucky | W 77–58 | 2–0 |
Dean Smith Center (21,538) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
November 21* 10:00 p.m., ESPNU |
No. 1 | at UC Santa Barbara | W 84–67 | 3–0 |
Campus Events Center (6,000) Santa Barbara, CA | ||||||
November 24* 9:30 p.m., ESPNU |
No. 1 | at Chaminade
Maui Invitational |
W 115–70 | 4–0 |
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI | ||||||
November 25* 9:30 p.m., ESPN |
No. 1 | vs. Oregon Maui Invitational |
W 98–69 | 5–0 |
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI | ||||||
November 26* 10:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 1 | vs. No. 8 Notre Dame Maui Invitational |
W 102–87 | 6–0 |
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500) Lahaina, HI | ||||||
November 30* 6:30 p.m., FSN |
No. 1 | UNC Asheville | W 116–48 | 7–0 |
Dean Smith Center (18,054) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
December 3* 9:15 p.m., ESPN |
No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Michigan State ACC–Big Ten Challenge/Basketbowl II |
W 98–63 | 8–0 |
Ford Field (25,267) Detroit, MI | ||||||
December 13* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 |
No. 1 | Oral Roberts | W 100–84 | 9–0 |
Dean Smith Center (21,269) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
December 18* 7:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 1 | Evansville | W 91–73 | 10–0 |
Dean Smith Center (21,291) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
December 20* 2:00 p.m., ESPNU |
No. 1 | vs. Valparaiso | W 85–63 | 11–0 |
United Center (10,645) Chicago, IL | ||||||
December 28* 7:45 p.m., FSN |
No. 1 | Rutgers | W 97–75 | 12–0 |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
December 31* 10:00 p.m., ESPN2 |
No. 1 | at Nevada | W 84–61 | 13–0 |
Lawlor Events Center (10,526) Reno, NV | ||||||
January 4 5:30 p.m., FSN |
No. 1 | Boston College | L 78–85 | 13–1 (0–1) |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
January 7* 9:00 p.m., FSN-South |
No. 3 | College of Charleston
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W 108–70 | 14–1 (0–1) |
Dean Smith Center (20,543) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
January 11 8:00 p.m., FSN |
No. 3 | at No. 4 Wake Forest | L 89–92 | 14–2 (0–2) |
Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,714) Winston-Salem, NC | ||||||
January 15 9:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 5 | at Virginia | W 83–61 | 15–2 (1–2) |
John Paul Jones Arena (13,811) Charlottesville, VA | ||||||
January 17 9:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 5 | ESPN College GameDay
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W 82–65 | 16–2 (2–2) |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
January 21 9:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 5 | No. 10 Clemson | W 94–70 | 17–2 (3–2) |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
January 28 9:00 p.m., Raycom
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No. 5 | at Florida State | W 80–77 | 18–2 (4–2) |
Donald L. Tucker Center (11,333)
Tallahassee, FL | ||||||
January 31 3:30 p.m., ABC |
No. 5 | at Carolina-NC State rivalry
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W 93–76 | 19–2 (5–2) |
RBC Center (19,700)
Raleigh, NC | ||||||
February 3 8:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN |
No. 3 | Maryland | W 108–91 | 20–2 (6–2) |
Dean Smith Center (20,863) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
February 7 4:00 p.m., Raycom |
No. 3 | Virginia | W 76–61 | 21–2 (7–2) |
Dean Smith Center (20,879) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
February 11 9:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN |
No. 3 | at No. 6 Carolina-Duke rivalry
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W 101–87 | 22–2 (8–2) |
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC | ||||||
February 15 7:45 p.m., FSN |
No. 3 | at Miami (FL) | W 69–65 | 23–2 (9–2) |
BankUnited Center (7,200)
Coral Gables, FL | ||||||
February 18 8:00 p.m., Raycom |
No. 3 | NC State Carolina-NC State rivalry |
W 89–80 | 24–2 (10–2) |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
February 21 3:30 p.m., ABC |
No. 3 | at Maryland | L 85–88 OT | 24–3 (10–3) |
Comcast Center (17,950)
College Park, MD | ||||||
February 28 12:00 p.m., CBS |
No. 4 | Georgia Tech | W 104–74 | 25–3 (11–3) |
Dean Smith Center (20,959) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
March 4 7:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 2 | at Virginia Tech | W 86–78 | 26–3 (12–3) |
Cassell Coliseum (9,847) Blacksburg, VA | ||||||
March 8 4:00 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 | No. 7 Duke Senior Day/Carolina-Duke rivalry |
W 79–71 | 27–3 (13–3) |
Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC | ||||||
ACC Tournament | |||||||||||
March 13 12:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN2 |
No. 1 | vs. Virginia Tech ACC men's basketball tournament |
W 79–76 | 28–3 |
Georgia Dome (26,352) Atlanta, GA | ||||||
March 14 1:30 p.m., Raycom/ESPN2 |
No. 1 | vs. No. 22 Florida State ACC men's basketball tournament |
L 70–73 | 28–4 |
Georgia Dome (26,352) Atlanta, GA | ||||||
NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
March 19* 2:50 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. (16-S) Radford First Round |
W 101–58 | 29–4 |
Greensboro Coliseum (20,226)
Greensboro, NC | ||||||
March 21* 5:45 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. 21 (8-S) LSU Second Round |
W 84–70 | 30–4 |
Greensboro Coliseum (22,479) Greensboro, NC | ||||||
March 27* 9:57 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. 10 (4-S) Gonzaga Sweet Sixteen |
W 98–77 | 31–4 |
FedExForum (17,103) Memphis, TN | ||||||
March 29* 5:05 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. 7 (2-S) Oklahoma Elite Eight |
W 72–60 | 32–4 |
FedExForum (17,025) Memphis, TN | ||||||
April 4* 8:47 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. 11 (3-E) Villanova Final Four |
W 83–69 | 33–4 |
Ford Field (72,456) Detroit, MI | ||||||
April 6* 9:21 p.m., CBS |
No. 2 (1-S) | vs. No. 8 (2-M) Michigan State National Championship Game |
W 89–72 | 34–4 |
Ford Field (72,922) Detroit, MI | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from Rank indicates seed in the NCAA tournament. E-East Region, W-West Region, S-South Region, M-Midwest Region.
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Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
AP | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (72) | 1 (71) | 1 (72) | 3 (2) | 5 | 5 | 5 (11) | 3 (3) | 3 (2) | 3 (2) | 4 | 2 (3) | 1 (35) | 2 (11) | Not released |
Coaches | 1 (31) | 1 (30) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 3 (1) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 (1) | 3 (6) | 1 (31) |
Team players drafted into the NBA
Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
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2009 |
1 | 13 | Tyler Hansbrough | Indiana Pacers |
2009 | 1 | 18 | Ty Lawson | Denver Nuggets |
2009 | 1 | 28 | Wayne Ellington | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2009 | 2 | 46 | Danny Green | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2010 |
1 | 13 | Ed Davis | Toronto Raptors |
2012 |
1 | 17 | Tyler Zeller | Dallas Mavericks |
References
- ^ Novak, Thad. "The 50 Best Teams in College Basketball History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Ridiculously early preseason Top 25 (and one): Heels, Cards sit 1–2 – NCAA Division I Mens Basketball – CBSSports.com Live Scores, Standings, Stats Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Tar Heels Are Unanimous Preseason No. 1 In Coaches Poll". Tarheelblue.com. October 30, 2008. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ "Tar Heels voted as first unanimous preseason no. 1 in AP poll". ESPN.com. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
- ^ "2008–09 Schedule Archived 2010-03-18 at the Wayback Machine." tarheelblue.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2008.
- ^ "2009 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2011.