North Carolina Tar Heels: Top Five Dean Smith Teams (w/ video)

2. 1992-93

During the 1992-93 season, not many teams were tougher than the North Carolina Tar Heels. They were not the flashiest group, nor were they the most dominant team; they just knew how to win games.

With this group, Dean Smith had some blue collar players that knew how to maximize their talent and effort as a unit to be successful. The Tar Heels were led by tough forward George Lynch, who was averaging 14.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, and center Eric Montross, who banged his way to 15.8 points to lead North Carolina in scoring.

They ended the season with 34 wins and a regular season ACC title where they only lost two games in the toughest conference in the nation. They used their regular season success to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament where they were tested in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, but came out victorious.

In the National Championship Game, North Carolina faced the Michigan Wolverines and the revolutionary Fab Five of Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Chris Webber. The Tar Heels lost a one-point game against the Wolverines earlier in the year during non-conference play, but they were able to top Michigan this time around and win Smith’s second National Championship with the infamous timeout call by Webber late in the game.

Though the game itself would be remembered for Webber’s blunder, that should not take away from the accomplishment of that North Carolina team and their ability to grind out games.

Next: 1981-82