University of North Carolina Athletics
Coke Classics - Men's Basketball National Championships
February 11, 2004 | Men's Basketball
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 Dean Smith cuts down the nets following the 1993 national championship game.  |
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Dean Smith had been there before. The last time his Tar Heels walked on the Superdome floor, they walked off as NCAA champions.
Now, after a grueling ACC season that included five other Top 25 teams; after a tough road through the East Regional bracket that required an overtime victory to escape the final; after defeating a Roy Williams-coached Kansas squad that had beaten the Tar Heels just two years prior in the national semifinal- Carolina was back on the Superdome floor playing for the national championship.
The 1993 Tar Heels were ready. Center Eric Montross and senior forward George Lynch anchored the team and shooting guard Donald Williams provided the spark from the outside. Point guard Derrick Phelps ran the offense and a handful of role players brought everything together in typical Dean Smith fashion.
Michigan was ready too, though. The raucous Wolverines, led by vocal center Chris Webber and the rest of the "Fab Five," had lost the championship game in 1992 and were hungry to redeem themselves. They won a hard-fought overtime battle against Jamal Mashburn and the Kentucky Wildcats in the national semifinal, 81-78, and were confident they would return to Ann Arbor with a championship.
The styles of the two teams couldn't have been any farther apart. The Tar Heels were a traditional Dean Smith team - talented, disciplined and focused. The Wolverines had brought a brash, new feel to the game, famous for their black shoes, baggy shorts and playground style of play.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the game. Michigan led by 10 in the first half, but Carolina rallied for a 42-36 lead at intermission. The Wolverines built a 67-63 lead with 4:30 left to play, but the Tar Heels scored nine unanswered points to take a 72-67 lead with 1:03 to play.
Trailing by four, Williams began the 9-0 run with a three-pointer, then Phelps hit a fastbreak layup to give UNC the lead with 3:07 to play. Baskets by Lynch and Montross upped the lead to five with a minute to go. Michigan responded with a Ray Jackson jump shot and a Chris Webber put-back to bring the Wolverines back to within 72-71 with 36 seconds to play.
Carolina junior forward Pat Sullivan was fouled with 20 seconds left and went to the line for a one-and-one. Sullivan connected on the first, but missed the second and Webber got the rebound with the Wolverines trailing 73-71.
Webber stumbled and appeared to travel, but the officials made no call. He then dribbled past halfcourt and found himself surrounded by the Tar Heels and called a timeout. However, Michigan did not have any timeouts remaining and the officials called a technical foul on the Michigan bench.
Williams hit two free throws and Carolina marched on to a 77-71 victory. It was only appropriate that Williams stood at the line at the end of the game, as he dominated the Final Four en route to Most Outstanding Player honors. Williams made five of seven three pointers and scored 25 points in both the national semifinal and championship games.
The Tar Heels finished the season 34-4, winning 18 consecutive games at one point. Carolina had even faced Michigan early on in the season at the Rainbow Classic and lost, 79-78, courtesy a last-second shot from Wolverine point guard Jalen Rose.
The 18-game win streak was snapped by a 77-75 loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament championship game. The Tar Heels played that game without Phelps, who injured his back when he was fouled from behind on a layup attempt in the ACC semifinal against Virginia.
Despite the loss to the Yellow Jackets, Carolina was No. 1 in the East Regional. Wins over East Carolina, Rhode Island and Arkansas setup a regional championship against Cincinnati in the Meadowlands. The Bearcats had played in the Final Four in 1992.
Nick Van Exel hit six three-pointers in the first half and the Bearcats built a 29-14 lead with 7:08 left in the opening half, but the Tar Heels rallied to pull within one at halftime.
In the second half, Phelps clamped down on Van Exel, limiting him to just one field goal.
Carolina led late in regulation, but Tarrance Gibson's driving layup with 35 seconds to play tied the game. The Tar Heels had a a chance to win at the buzzer, but Brian Reese's dunk attempt after an out-of-bounds play with 0.8 seconds left ricocheted off the back iron.
Williams starred in overtime, hitting back-to-back three-pointers and the Tar Heels hung on for a 75-68 win.
Lynch was the heart and soul of the team and recorded double-doubles in each of the last four NCAA Tournament victories.
Dean Smith on 1993 - "We had a such great leader in George Lynch and our team had a lot of confidence. We were very poised. I know I had a lot of confidence in Derrick Phelps and Lynch. The last four games all were close games. Arkansas went down to the wire, Cincinnati we should have won in regulation, but won in overtime. Michigan was a great game with Donald Williams hitting key shots. So many of those games could have gone either way."
