NCAA Basketball: North Carolina the worst preseason No. 1 team of all time
By Joey Loose
15. 1983-84 North Carolina
You could make the argument that North Carolina was at its best in the early 80s, in the back half of Dean Smith’s long tenure leading the program. A major factor in that success was the play of Michael Jordan, who was a junior during this particular season when the Tar Heels started the year atop the poll. But Jordan was far from the only talented player on North Carolina’s roster; a roster hoping to replicate the national championship they had earned just two years earlier.
Jordan’s season (19.6 points per game) was pretty great, but senior forward Sam Perkins (17.6 points, 9.6 rebounds per game) was pretty outstanding as well. Sophomore center Brad Daugherty (10.5 points per game) did valuable work in the frontcourt. The team also got greater than 9 points a game and considerable contributions from senior forward Matt Doherty, the future coach of the Tar Heels, and from freshman guard Kenny Smith, the longtime NBA player, and analyst.
North Carolina spent nearly the entire season at #1, even with Smith missing several weeks to injury during conference play. They won every ACC game before falling to rival Duke in the conference tournament, with their only other loss coming against a strong Arkansas team. The top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, they did decent work against 8-seed Temple in their first game but faltered far earlier than many anticipated, losing 72-68 to 4-seed Indiana in the Sweet Sixteen. Michael Jordan’s career ended with just that one title when he was a freshman, while the Tar Heels wonder about what could have been.