March Madness: The 5 best UNC teams to never win a title

UNC 1984

The 1984 team is arguably one of the best teams not to win a championship. However, based on my criteria for this list I changed their positions. Michael Jordan headlined the star-studded Tar Heels during the 1983-1984 season. Freshman point guard Kenny “The Jet” Smith, accompanied Jordan in one of the best backcourts in the history of UNC basketball. Former UNC basketball coach, Matt Doherty, was the starting small forward. Sam “Big Smooth” Perkins, the starting center on the 1982 championship team, was the starting power forward. Brad Daugherty (ESPN Basketball and NASCAR analyst) was the starting center as a sophomore.

This team lost three games the entire season: one loss during the regular season, one loss to Duke in the 1984 ACC Tournament and a loss to a Bobby Knight-coached Indiana Hoosiers squad in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Similar to the 2012 Tar Heels, Carolina’s title hopes changed when Kenny Smith sustained an injury late in the season. This team finished the season with a 28-3 record. Every loss was a close game. In addition, each loss was no more than four points. Many people consider this team to be one of the best Carolina basketball teams, despite not winning a championship.