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 Greensboro Coliseum, just an hour west of Chapel Hill. They easily dispatched Radford and LSU to advance to the regionals at the FedExForum in Memphis. In the regional round, the Heels dismantled Gonzaga 93–77. In the regional final, they defeated Oklahoma 72–60 to advance to the Final Four for the 18th time in school history—tied with UCLA for the most ever. The wins in the regional phase were also the school's 100th and 101st wins in the NCAA Tournament, passing Kentucky for most all-time, although Kentucky has reclaimed the top spot as of 2019. The Tar Heels were the highest seed to reach the Final Four at Ford Field in Detroit; they were the overall #3 seed in the tournament behind Louisville and Pittsburgh. In the national semifinal, the Tar Heels pounded Villanova 83–69 to advance to the national championship game for the ninth time in school history. They played against Michigan State, whom the Tar Heels defeated 98–63 during the December 2008 ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They were no less dominant in the title game, winning 89–72 for the school's fifth NCAA national title—tied for the third-most all-time. The win capped off one of the most dominant runs in the tournament's history. The Tar Heels won every game by at least 12 points—a feat all the more remarkable since they upended four teams ranked in the top 15 of the final AP Poll in the process (#10 Gonzaga, #7 Oklahoma, #11 Villanova and #8 Michigan State). They also led for all but 10 minutes of a possible 240 minutes of game time. It also allowed Tyler Hansbrough and his fellow seniors to end their careers as the winningest class in school history. Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the fourth Tar Heel to earn the award. |- !colspan=12 style=|Exhibition games |- !colspan=12 style=| Regular season |- !colspan=12 style=| ACC Tournament |- !colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament Rankings