2017–18 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 2017–18 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Roy Williams, who was in his 15th season as UNC's head men's basketball coach. The Tar Heels played their home games at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 26–11, 11–7 in ACC play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place. As the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Syracuse, Miami, and Duke before losing to Virginia in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West region where they defeated Lipscomb before losing to Texas A&M in the Second Round.

2017–18 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 10
Record	26–11 (11–7 ACC)
Head coach	Roy Williams (15th season)
Assistant coaches	Steve Robinson (15th season) Hubert Davis (6th season) Brad Frederick (1st season)
Home arena	Dean E. Smith Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 ACC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Virginia †	17	–	1		.944			31	–	3		.912
No. 9 Duke	13	–	5		.722			29	–	8		.784
No. 22 Miami (FL)	11	–	7		.611			22	–	10		.688
No. 20 Clemson	11	–	7		.611			25	–	10		.714
NC State	11	–	7		.611			21	–	12		.636
No. 10 North Carolina	11	–	7		.611			26	–	11		.703
Virginia Tech	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Florida State	9	–	9		.500			23	–	12		.657
Louisville	9	–	9		.500			22	–	14		.611
Notre Dame	8	–	10		.444			21	–	15		.583
Syracuse	8	–	10		.444			23	–	14		.622
Boston College	7	–	11		.389			19	–	16		.543
Georgia Tech	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Wake Forest	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Pittsburgh	0	–	18		.000			8	–	24		.250
† 2018 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Tar Heels finished the 2016–17 season with a record of 33–7, 14–4 in ACC play to finish in first place, winning their 31st ACC regular season title.^[1] After beating Miami in the ACC tournament,^[2] they lost to Duke in the semifinals.^[3] Despite the loss to Duke, the Tar Heels received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the South region.^[4] There they defeated No. 16 Texas Southern,^[5] No. 8 Arkansas,^[6] No. 4 Butler,^[7] and No. 2 Kentucky to earn a trip to their 20th Final Four.^[8] In a matchup against the Midwest Region's No. 3 seed Oregon in the Final Four, the Tar Heels won 77–76 to advance to the National Championship.^[9][10] In the championship against the West Region's No. 1 seed Gonzaga, the Tar Heels won 71–65, winning the school's sixth national championship.^[11][12][13]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Nate Britt	0	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Upper Marlboro, Maryland	Graduated
Kennedy Meeks	3	F	6'10"	260	Senior	Charlotte, North Carolina	Graduated
Isaiah Hicks	4	F	6'9"	235	Senior	Oxford, North Carolina	Graduated
Kanler Coker	13	G	6'4"	200	Senior	Gainesville, Georgia	Graduated
Stilman White	30	G	6'1"	175	Senior	Wilmington, North Carolina	Graduated
Justin Jackson	44	F	6'8"	200	Junior	Tomball, Texas	Declared for 2017 NBA draft[14]
Tony Bradley	5	C	6'11"	240	Freshman	Bartow, Florida	Declared for 2017 NBA draft

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Garrison Brooks PF	Lafayette, AL	Auburn High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Apr 21, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: N/A
Jalek Felton SG	Mullins, SC	Gray Collegiate Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Dec 30, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: N/A
Brandon Huffman C	Anchorage, AK	Word of God Christian Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Sep 26, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: N/A
Andrew Platek SG	Guilderland, NY	Northfield Mount Hermon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 18, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: N/A
Sterling Manley C	Pickerington, OH	Pickerington Central High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oct 16, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #21   Rivals: #28  247Sports: #14  ESPN: #22
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Cameron Johnson	F	6'8"	210	Junior	Moon Township, PA	Graduate Transfer from the University of Pittsburgh. Will play immediately in the 2017–18 season under NCAA transfer rules and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Roster

2017–18 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Seventh Woods 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Hammond School Columbia, South Carolina G/F 1 Theo Pinson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Wesleyan Christian Academy Greensboro, North Carolina G 2 Joel Berry II 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Lake Highland Prep Apopka, Florida G 3 Andrew Platek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Northfield Mount Hermon Schenectady, New York G 4 Brandon Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Douglas County High School Douglasville, Georgia G 5 Jalek Felton (S) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Gray Collegiate Academy West Columbia, South Carolina F 11 Shea Rush 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So The Barstow School Kansas City, Missouri G 13 Cameron Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Our Lady of the Sacred Heart/Pittsburgh Moon Township, Pennsylvania G 14 Kane Ma (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr New Garden Friends School Greensboro, North Carolina F 15 Garrison Brooks 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Auburn High School Lafayette, Alabama C 21 Sterling Manley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Pickerington Central High School Reynoldsburg, Ohio F 22 Walker Miller (W) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr New Hampton School Greensboro, North Carolina G 24 Kenny Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr L.C. Bird Midlothian, Virginia F 25 Aaron Rohlman (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Hunter Huss Gastonia, North Carolina G 30 K. J. Smith (W)  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So IMG Academy Thousand Oaks, California F 32 Luke Maye 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Hough Huntersville, North Carolina C 42 Brandon Huffman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Word of God Christian Academy Goldsboro, North Carolina	Head coach Roy Williams (North Carolina) Assistant coach(es) Steve Robinson (Radford) Hubert Davis (North Carolina) Brad Frederick (North Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Oct 27, 2017* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra		Barton	W 91–80	–	18 – Maye	11 – Maye	7 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (10,047) Chapel Hill, NC
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 9	Northern Iowa	W 86–69	1–0	26 – Maye	10 – Maye	5 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (18,926) Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 15, 2017* 8:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 9	Bucknell PK-80–Phil Knight Invitational Opening Round	W 93–81	2–0	20 – Maye	13 – Manley	6 – Tied	Dean Smith Center (13,941) Chapel Hill, NC
Nov 20, 2017* 11:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 9	at Stanford	W 96–72	3–0	29 – Berry II	9 – Maye	5 – Maye	Maples Pavilion (7,233) Stanford, CA
Nov 23, 2017* 2:30 pm, ESPN	No. 9	vs. Portland PK-80–Phil Knight Invitational Victory quarterfinals	W 102–78	4–0	20 – Maye	10 – Maye	7 – Pinson	Moda Center (14,053) Portland, OR
Nov 24, 2017* 3:30 pm, ESPN	No. 9	vs. Arkansas PK-80–Phil Knight Invitational Victory semifinals	W 87–68	5–0	28 – Maye	16 – Maye	5 – Maye	Veterans Memorial Coliseum (10,978) Portland, OR
Nov 26, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN	No. 9	vs. No. 4 Michigan State PK-80–Phil Knight Invitational Victory championship	L 45–63	5–1	16 – Pinson	6 – Tied	3 – Berry II	Moda Center (19,413) Portland, OR
Nov 29, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN	No. 13	Michigan ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 86–71	6–1	27 – Maye	7 – Pinson	6 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (19,036) Chapel Hill, NC
Dec 1, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	vs. Davidson Charlotte Showcase	W 85–75	7–1	27 – Berry II	17 – Maye	5 – Pinson	Spectrum Center (11,395) Charlotte, NC
Dec 3, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	Tulane	W 97–73	8–1	22 – Maye	10 – Maye	4 – Maye	Dean Smith Center (14,402) Chapel Hill, NC
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	Western Carolina	W 104–61	9–1	15 – Felton	12 – Maye	7 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (12,720) Chapel Hill, NC
Dec 17, 2017* 3:00 pm, ESPN	No. 7	at No. 20 Tennessee	W 78–73	10–1	21 – Berry II	9 – Pinson	8 – Pinson	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
Dec 20, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 5	Wofford	L 75–79	10–2	23 – Berry II	14 – Maye	4 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (16,017) Chapel Hill, NC
Dec 23, 2017* 1:30 pm, CBS	No. 5	vs. Ohio State CBS Sports Classic	W 86–72	11–2	19 – Tied	10 – Maye	5 – Felton	Smoothie King Center (8,119) New Orleans, LA
ACC Regular Season
Dec 30, 2017 12:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	Wake Forest	W 73–69	12–2 (1–0)	17 – Maye	15 – Maye	6 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (19,578) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	at No. 24 Florida State	L 80–81	12–3 (1–1)	28 – Berry II	7 – Williams	4 – Pinson	Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (8,931) Tallahassee, FL
Jan 6, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	at No. 8 Virginia	L 49–61	12–4 (1–2)	17 – Berry II	8 – Tied	3 – Williams	John Paul Jones Arena (14,401) Charlottesville, VA
Jan 9, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN	No. 20	Boston College	W 96–66	13–4 (2–2)	32 – Maye	18 – Maye	5 – Tied	Dean Smith Center (17,104) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 13, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 20	at Notre Dame	W 69–68	14–4 (3–2)	18 – Maye	11 – Maye	4 – Pinson	Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN
Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 15	No. 20 Clemson	W 87–79	15–4 (4–2)	21 – Johnson	7 – Pinson	6 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (20,155) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 20, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 15	Georgia Tech	W 80–66	16–4 (5–2)	17 – Maye	11 – Maye	5 – Williams	Dean Smith Center (20,334) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 22, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 10	at Virginia Tech	L 69–80	16–5 (5–3)	23 – Tied	9 – Maye	8 – Pinson	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Jan 27, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS	No. 10	NC State Rivalry	L 91–95 OT	16–6 (5–4)	31 – Maye	15 – Pinson	6 – Johnson	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 19	at No. 20 Clemson	L 78–82	16–7 (5–5)	32 – Johnson	9 – Maye	4 – Berry II	Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC
Feb 3, 2018 8:00 pm, ACCN	No. 19	Pittsburgh	W 96–65	17–7 (6–5)	26 – Maye	13 – Pinson	8 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (20,381) Chapel Hill, NC
Feb 8, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN	No. 21	No. 9 Duke Rivalry/ESPN College GameDay	W 82–78	18–7 (7–5)	21 – Berry II	13 – Johnson	6 – Berry II	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm, ACCN	No. 21	at NC State Rivalry	W 96–89	19–7 (8–5)	33 – Maye	17 – Maye	7 – Pinson	PNC Arena (19,500) Raleigh, NC
Feb 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 14	Notre Dame	W 83–66	20–7 (9–5)	21 – Berry II	10 – Pinson	5 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (19,336) Chapel Hill, NC
Feb 17, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN	No. 14	at Louisville	W 93–76	21–7 (10–5)	23 – Berry II	13 – Maye	5 – Tied	KFC Yum! Center (21,210) Louisville, KY
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 10	at Syracuse	W 78–74	22–7 (11–5)	23 – Pinson	8 – Williams	7 – Pinson	Carrier Dome (27,165) Syracuse, NY
Feb 27, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 9	Miami (FL)	L 88–91	22–8 (11–6)	31 – Berry II	10 – Maye	11 – Pinson	Dean Smith Center (20,251) Chapel Hill, NC
Mar 3, 2018 8:15 pm, ESPN	No. 9	at No. 5 Duke Rivalry/ESPN College GameDay	L 64–74	22–9 (11–7)	16 – Johnson	8 – Williams	5 – Berry II	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
ACC Tournament
Mar 7, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN2	(6) No. 12	vs. (11) Syracuse Second Round	W 78–59	23–9	17 – Williams	11 – Pinson	6 – Pinson	Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY
Mar 8, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN2	(6) No. 12	vs. (3) No. 24 Miami (FL) Quarterfinals	W 82–65	24–9	25 – Pinson	13 – Maye	5 – Johnson	Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY
Mar 9, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN	(6) No. 12	vs. (2) No. 5 Duke Semifinals/Rivalry	W 74–69	25–9	17 – Maye	10 – Maye	7 – Pinson	Barclays Center (18,157) Brooklyn, NY
Mar 10, 2018 8:30 pm, ESPN	(6) No. 12	vs. (1) No. 1 Virginia Championship	L 63–71	25–10	20 – Maye	8 – Pinson	6 – Pinson	Barclays Center (18,157) Brooklyn, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2018* 2:45 pm, CBS	(2 W) No. 10	vs. (15 W) Lipscomb First Round	W 84–66	26–10	18 – Williams	10 – Tied	7 – Pinson	Spectrum Center (18,489) Charlotte, NC
Mar 18, 2018* 5:15 pm, CBS	(2 W) No. 10	vs. (7 W) Texas A&M Second Round	L 65–86	26–11	21 – Berry II	11 – Maye	11 – Pinson	Spectrum Center (18,485) Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	9	9	9	9	13	11	7	5	13	12	20	15	10	19	21	14	10	9	12	10	Not released
Coaches	9	9	9	9	11	10	7	4	14	11	18	14	10	17	22	16	10	9	11	9	14

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

1. "UNC Basketball: Tar Heels win ACC title outright for second-straight year". Keeping It Heel. March 4, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
2. "North Carolina crushes Miami by 25 in ACC tournament". miamiherald. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
3. "ACC Tournament: Duke clears North Carolina and looks as dangerous as ever". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
4. "2017 NCAA Tournament bracket: North Carolina No. 1 seed in South Region". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
5. "North Carolina ousts Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament: Score, stats, live updates recap". OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
6. "North Carolina defeats Arkansas in 2nd round of NCAA tournament". myfox8.com. March 20, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
7. "Butler vs. North Carolina - Game Recap - March 24, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
8. "NCAA tournament 2017: North Carolina beats Kentucky, 75-73, in a last-second thriller". SBNation.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
9. "Oregon Ducks lose heartbreaker to North Carolina Tar Heels at Final Four 2017: Live updates recap, game highlights". OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
10. Schonbrun, Zach (April 1, 2017). "Loose Attitudes and a Tight Finish Put the Tar Heels Back in the Title Game". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
11. "Gonzaga vs. North Carolina - Game Recap - April 3, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
12. Wire, SI. "UNC wins sixth national championship, beating Gonzaga". SI.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
13. Tracy, Victor Mather, Marc; Schonbrun, Zach (April 3, 2017). "N.C.A.A. Championship: How North Carolina Won Its Seventh Title". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 7, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
14. "Justin Jackson to Enter NBA draft".