clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Greatest UNC Team Bracket: Final Four

Four legendary Tar Heel teams are left in our bracket!

NCAA Basketball: Final Four Championship Game-Gonzaga vs North Carolina Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After four rounds and decades of Carolina history, 60 teams from North Carolina Tar Heels history are gone and we are down to four in our quest to crown the best UNC men’s basketball team of all time.

Not shockingly with the history the Tar Heels have, all four teams left were national champions in the season they played. Between the four teams remaining, they lost a grand total of 10 games combined, and all won at least 32. There’s a genuine argument for any four of the teams left. There are about to be some really hard choices - in this round and in the championship game.

Vote in the two Final Four matchups below! We are getting close to crowning a winner!

Final Four

#1. 1956-57 vs. #2. 2004-05

1956-57

Record: 32-0 (14-0 ACC)

NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions

Best Win: 3/23/57 - 54-53 (3OT) vs. #2 Kansas

AP Poll Peak Ranking: #1

Road to the Final Four:

R1: 97% vs. 2001-02

R2: 96% vs. 1974-75

S16: 65% vs. 1994-95

E8: 78% vs. 1976-77

Frank McGuire’s undefeated national champions took down a Dean Smith/Phil Ford team to book their place in the Final Four. Being the top overall seed, they avoided running into one of the other national champions, but that won’t be the case in the next round.

2004-05

Record: 33-4 (14-2 ACC)

NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions

Best Win: 4/4/05 - 75-70 vs. #1 Illinois

AP Poll Peak Ranking: #2

Road to the Final Four:

R1: 99% vs. 1964-65

R2: 99% vs. 1975-76

S16: 86% vs. 2007-08

E8: 63% vs. 1992-93

Roy Williams’ first championship team knocked off the top seed in their region, Dean Smith’s last championship team from 1992-93, to advance to the Final Four. They were only team that wasn’t the #1 seed in their region to make it this far.

Poll

Who was better?

This poll is closed

  • 42%
    1956-57
    (274 votes)
  • 57%
    2004-05
    (368 votes)
642 votes total Vote Now

#1. 1981-82 vs. #1. 2008-09

1981-82

Record: 32-2 (12-2 ACC)

NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions

Best Win: 3/29/82 - 63-63 vs. #6 Georgetown

AP Poll Peak Ranking: #1

Road to the Final Four:

R1: 98% vs. 2019-20

R2: 95% vs. 2018-19

S16: 99% vs. 1971-72

E8: 92% vs. 2015-16

Dean Smith’s team with the famous shot in Tar Heel story knocked off the team with the most infamous shot in Tar Heel history to advance on to the Final Four. Like ‘56-57, they got a bracket with no other UNC national champions in it, so they have yet to face another team with the accolades that they had.

2008-09

Record: 34-4 (13-3 ACC)

NCAA Tournament Finish: National Champions

Best Win: 4/6/09 - 89-72 vs. #8 Michigan State

AP Poll Peak Ranking: #1

Road to the Final Four:

R1: 100% vs. 1963-64

R2: 99% vs. 1985-86

S16: 97% vs. 1996-97

E8: 92% vs. 2016-17

Roy Williams’ second title team has destroyed all comers on their path to the Final Four. That concluded by them dominating a matchup of UNC’s two most recent titles when they knocked off 2016-17. It may only be a semifinal, but this could turn out to be the game of the tournament.

Poll

Who was better?

This poll is closed

  • 51%
    1981-82
    (351 votes)
  • 48%
    2008-09
    (329 votes)
680 votes total Vote Now