1980–81 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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
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
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
- 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
[5]
Rankings
[6]
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
[7]
References
- ^ "1981 NCAA Final Four program". March 1981.
- ^ "B.Y.U. Defeats Irish, 51-50; North Carolina Ousts Utah". The New York Times. March 20, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ "VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA REACH N.C.A.A. FINAL FOUR". The New York Times. March 22, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ "UNC Basketball Schedule 1980-81". tarheeltimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
- ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 877–878. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
- ^ "1981 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
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Rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics |
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