1987–88 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1987–88 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina from Chapel Hill, North Carolina .[ 1]
Led by head coach Dean Smith , the Tar Heels completed yet another in a long line of impressive seasons, with an ACC Regular Season title, a top ten ranked team, and having reached all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament . After the season, longtime assistant coach Roy Williams would depart to become head coach of that season's national championship, Kansas . Williams would eventually leave Kansas to become the head coach of the Tar Heels since 2003, Williams would win national Championships with the Tar Heels in 2005, 2009, and 2017, surpassing Smith as having the most national Championships at UNC with three.
[ 2]
Roster
1987–88 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
3
Jeff Denny
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
GS
Rural Hall, North Carolina
G
11
Rodney Hyatt
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
—
So
Wadesboro, North Carolina
F
20
Steve Bucknall
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Jr
London , England
G
21
King Rice
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
—
Fr
Binghamton, New York
G/F
22
Kevin Madden
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
So
Staunton, Virginia
G
24
Doug Elstun
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
Fr
Overland Park, Kansas
F
31
David May
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
Jr
Greensboro, North Carolina
F
32
Pete Chilcutt
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
—
Fr
Eutaw, Alabama
G
33
Ranzino Smith
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
Sr
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
F
34
J. R. Reid
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
So
Virginia Beach, Virginia
F
35
Joe Jenkins
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
Sr
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
C
42
Scott Williams
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Hacienda Heights, California
F
44
Rick Fox
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Fr
Nassau, Bahamas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-conference Regular Season
Nov 21, 1987 *
No. 3
vs. No. 1 Syracuse Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic
W 96–93
1–0
Springfield Civic Center Springfield, Massachusetts
Nov 27, 1987 *
No. 3
vs. USC
W 82–77
2–0
Nov 28, 1987 *
No. 3
at Richmond Central Fidelity Holiday Classic
W 87–76
3–0
Robins Center Richmond, Virginia
Dec 3, 1987 *
No. 1
Stetson
W 86–74
4–0
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 5, 1987 *
No. 1
at Vanderbilt
L 76–78
4–1
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 12, 1987 *
No. 5
SMU
W 90–74
5–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 17, 1987 *
No. 4
The Citadel
W 98–74
6–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 19, 1987 *
No. 4
at Illinois
W 85–74
7–1
Assembly Hall (16,712)Champaign, Illinois
Dec 30, 1987 *
No. 4
at Nevada
W 115–91
8–1
Lawlor Events Center Reno, Nevada
Jan 2, 1988 *
No. 4
at UCLA
W 80–73
9–1
Pauley Pavilion (12,544)Los Angeles, California
Jan 6, 1988 *
No. 4
vs. Fordham
W 76–67
10–1
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Jan 9, 1988 *
No. 4
La Salle
W 96–82
11–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ACC Regular season
Jan 14, 1988
No. 2
at Maryland
W 71–65
12–1 (1–0)
Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland
Jan 16, 1988
No. 2
Virginia
W 87–62
13–1 (2–0)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 21, 1988 8:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 2
No. 9 Duke Rivalry
L 69–70
13–2 (2–1)
Dean Smith Center (21,444)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 24, 1988
No. 2
at No. 20 NC State
W 77–73
14–2 (3–1)
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
Jan 28, 1988
No. 3
at Wake Forest
L 80–83
14–3 (4–1)
Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 30, 1988
No. 3
Georgia Tech
W 73–71
15–3 (5–1)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 4, 1988
No. 8
at Clemson
W 88–64
16–3 (6–1)
Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina
Feb 11, 1988
No. 6
No. 16 NC State
W 75–73
17–3 (7–1)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 14, 1988
No. 6
at Virginia
W 64–58
18–3 (8–1)
University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 17, 1988
No. 5
Wake Forest
W 80–62
19–3 (9–1)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 20, 1988
No. 5
Maryland
W 74–73
20–3 (10–1)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Non-conference Regular season
Feb 21, 1988 * NBC
No. 5
No. 1 Temple
L 66–83
20–4
Dean Smith Center (21,444)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ACC Regular season
Feb 28, 1988
No. 9
Clemson
W 88–52
21–4 (10–2)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 2, 1988
No. 6
at No. 13 Georgia Tech
W 97–80
22–4 (11–2)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 6, 1988 1:00 p.m., NBC
No. 6
at No. 9 Duke Rivalry
L 81–96
22–5 (11–3)
Cameron Indoor Stadium (8,564)Durham, North Carolina
ACC Tournament
Mar 11, 1988 *
No. 9
vs. Wake Forest Quarterfinals
W 83–62
23–5
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 12, 1988 *
No. 9
Maryland Semifinals
W 74–64
24–5
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 13, 1988 *
No. 9
vs. No. 8 Duke Championship game
L 61–65
24–6
Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
1988 NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988 *
(2 W) No. 7
vs. (15 W) North Texas State First round
W 83–65
25–6
Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 19, 1988 *
(2 W) No. 7
vs. (10 W) No. 15 Loyola Marymount Second round
W 123–97
26–6
Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 25, 1988 *
(2 W) No. 7
vs. (3 W) No. 10 Michigan West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 78–69
27–6
Kingdome Seattle, Washington
Mar 27, 1988 *
(2 W) No. 7
vs. (1 W) No. 2 Arizona West Regional Final – Elite Eight
L 52–70
27–7
Kingdome Seattle, Washington
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
Rankings
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics