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

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1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
ACC tournament champions
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 6
Record29–8 (10–4 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarmichael Auditorium
Seasons
1980–81 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Virginia 13 1   .929 29 4   .879
No. 6 North Carolina 10 4   .714 29 8   .784
No. 11 Wake Forest 9 5   .643 22 7   .759
No. 18 Maryland 8 6   .571 21 10   .677
Duke 6 8   .429 17 13   .567
Clemson 6 8   .429 20 11   .645
NC State 4 10   .286 14 13   .519
Georgia Tech 0 14   .000 4 23   .148
1981 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

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 University 63–50. The head coach was Dean Smith. The team played its home games at Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Roster

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1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 43 Jeb Barlow 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Jr Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
G 21 Jimmy Black 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 157 lb (71 kg) Jr Bronx, New York
G 24 Jim Braddock 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Chattanooga, Tennessee
C 45 Chris Brust 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Jr Babylon, New York
C 34 Pete Budko 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Sr Lutherville, Maryland
F 44 Matt Doherty 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Fr East Meadow, New York
G 50 Cecil Exum 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Dudley, North Carolina
F 32 Eric Kenny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Sr Asheville, North Carolina
C 51 Timo Makkonen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Fr Lahti, Finland
G 11 Mike Pepper 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Sr Vienna, Virginia
C 41 Sam Perkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Latham, New York
G 33 Dean Shaffer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Durham, North Carolina
F 30 Al Wood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Sr Gray, Georgia
F 52 James Worthy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) So Gastonia, North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[1]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 28, 1980*
No. 13 at Alaska Anchorage
Great Alaska Shootout
W 69–50  1–0
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 29, 1980*
No. 13 vs. No. 16 Georgetown
Great Alaska Shootout
W 83–71  2–0
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Anchorage, Alaska
Nov 30, 1980*
No. 13 vs. No. 20 Arkansas
Great Alaska Shootout
W 64–58  3–0
Buckner Fieldhouse 
Anchorage, Alaska
Dec 2, 1980*
No. 10 Mercer W 89–74  4–0
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 5, 1980*
No. 10 vs. Duke
Big Four Tournament
W 78–76  5–0
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, North Carolina
Dec 6, 1980*
No. 10 vs. Wake Forest
Big Four Tournament
L 71–82  5–1
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, North Carolina
Dec 13, 1980*
South Florida W 73–64  6–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 20, 1980*
No. 8 No. 11 Indiana W 65–56  7–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 22, 1980*
Rutgers W 71–64  8–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 29, 1980*
No. 6 vs. Louisville
Winston Tire Classic
W 86–64  9–1
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Dec 30, 1980*
No. 6 vs. Minnesota
Winston Tire Classic
L 60–76  9–2
L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, California
Jan 3, 1981*
No. 6 vs. Kansas L 55–56  9–3
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
Jan 7, 1981
No. 16 No. 8 Maryland W 75–66  10–3
(1–0)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 10, 1981
No. 16 at No. 3 Virginia L 57–63  10–4
(1–1)
University Hall 
Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 14, 1981
No. 17 NC State W 73–70  11–4
(2–1)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 17, 1981
No. 17 Duke
Rivalry
W 80–65  12–4
(3–1)
Carmichael Auditorium (10,000)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 22, 1981
No. 17 at No. 3 Wake Forest W 74–60  13–4
(4–1)
Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1981
No. 17 Georgia Tech W 100–60  14–4
(5–1)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 28, 1981
No. 12 at Clemson W 61–47  15–4
(6–1)
Littlejohn Coliseum 
Clemson, South Carolina
Jan 31, 1981
No. 12 at NC State W 57–54  16–4
(7–1)
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, North Carolina
Feb 3, 1981
No. 11 No. 1 Virginia L 79–80 OT 16–5
(7–2)
Carmichael Auditorium (10,000)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 6, 1981*
No. 11 Saint Joseph's
North-South Doubleheaders
W 87–64  17–5
 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 7, 1981*
No. 11 Furman
North-South Doubleheaders
W 79–64  18–5
 
Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 11, 1981
No. 10 No. 7 Wake Forest L 68–84  18–6
(7–3)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 15, 1981
No. 10 at No. 19 Maryland W 76–63  19–6
(8–3)
Cole Field House 
College Park, Maryland
Feb 18, 1981*
No. 13 at William & Mary W 81–55  20–6
Kaplan Arena 
Williamsburg, Virginia
Feb 21, 1981
No. 13 Clemson W 75–61  21–6
(9–3)
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 25, 1981
No. 11 at Georgia Tech W 75–61  22–6
(10–3)
Omni Coliseum 
Atlanta, Georgia
Feb 28, 1981
No. 11 at Duke L 65–66 OT 22–7
(10–4)
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, North Carolina
ACC Tournament
Mar 5, 1981*
(2) No. 12 vs. (7) NC State
Quarterfinals
W 69–54  23–7
Capital Centre 
Landover, Maryland
Mar 6, 1981*
(2) No. 12 vs. (3) No. 11 Wake Forest
Semifinals
W 58–57  24–7
Capital Centre 
Landover, Maryland
Mar 7, 1981*
(2) No. 12 vs. (4) No. 20 Maryland
Championship game
W 61–60  25–7
Capital Centre 
Landover, Maryland
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1981*
(2 W) No. 6 vs. (10 W) Pittsburgh
Second round
W 74–57  26–7
Special Events Center 
El Paso, Texas
Mar 19, 1981*
(2 W) No. 6 vs. (3 W) No. 14 Utah
West Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 61–56[2]  27–7
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 21, 1981*
(2 W) No. 6 vs. (8 W) Kansas State
West Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 82–68[3]  28–7
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 28, 1981*
(2 W) No. 6 vs. (1 E) No. 5 Virginia
National Semifinals – Final Four
W 78–65  29–7
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 30, 1981*
(2 W) No. 6 vs. (3 ME) No. 9 Indiana
National Championship
L 50–63  29–8
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

NCAA basketball tournament

[edit]
  • 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

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Rankings

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[6]

Awards and honors

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Team players drafted into the NBA

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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 Bullets

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References

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  1. ^ "1981 NCAA Final Four program". March 1981. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ "B.Y.U. Defeats Irish, 51-50; North Carolina Ousts Utah". The New York Times. March 20, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA REACH N.C.A.A. FINAL FOUR". The New York Times. March 22, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "UNC Basketball Schedule 1980-81". tarheeltimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  6. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 877–878. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  7. ^ "1981 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.