1945–46 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 1945–46 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1945–46 NCAA men's basketball season. The head coach was Ben Carnevale, and the team played its home games at Woollen Gymnasium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

1945–46 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
SoCon regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	30–5 (13–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Ben Carnevale (2nd season)
Home arena	Woollen Gymnasium
Seasons ← 1944–45 1946–47 →

1945–46 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North Carolina	13	–	1		.929			30	–	5		.857
Duke †	12	–	2		.857			21	–	6		.778
Virginia Tech	7	–	3		.700			11	–	8		.579
Wake Forest	8	–	5		.615			12	–	6		.667
Maryland	5	–	4		.556			9	–	12		.429
William & Mary	5	–	5		.500			10	–	10		.500
Furman	4	–	4		.500			16	–	3		.842
George Washington	4	–	5		.444			7	–	8		.467
Clemson	5	–	7		.417			9	–	11		.450
North Carolina State	5	–	7		.417			6	–	12		.333
South Carolina	4	–	7		.364			9	–	11		.450
Davidson	5	–	9		.357			13	–	12		.520
Richmond	3	–	7		.300			8	–	12		.400
The Citadel	1	–	6		.143			7	–	11		.389
VMI	1	–	6		.143			1	–	10		.091
Washington and Lee	0	–	4		.000			2	–	11		.154
† 1946 SoCon tournament winner As of April 30, 1946 Rankings from AP Poll

North Carolina finished with a 13–1 conference record to capture the SoCon regular season title. The Tar Heels received a bid to the NCAA tournament where they made the first Final Four appearance in their program's storied history.

Roster

1945–46 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 3 Jim Jordan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Chester, West Virginia F 13 Hook Dillon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Savannah, Georgia F/C Bones McKinney 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Durham, North Carolina	Head coach Ben Carnevale Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 27, 1945*		at NYU	W 43–41	6–1	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Feb 20, 1946*		at Catawba	W 64–38	27–2	Salisbury, North Carolina
Feb 23, 1946*		at Little Creek AB	L 46–60	27–3	Little Rock, Arkansas
SoCon tournament
Feb 28, 1946*		vs. Maryland Quarterfinals	W 54–27	28–3	Thompson Gym  Raleigh, North Carolina
Mar 1, 1946*		vs. Wake Forest Semifinals	L 29–31	28–4	Thompson Gym  Raleigh, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 1946*		vs. NYU East Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 57–49	29–4	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Mar 23, 1946*		vs. Ohio State National Semifinal – Final Four	W 60–57 ^OT[1]	30–4	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Mar 26, 1946*		vs. Oklahoma A&M National Championship	L 40–43^[2]	30–5	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[3]

References

1. "NO. CAROLINA TRIPS OHIO STATE QUINTET IN OVERTIME, 60-57". The New York Times. March 24, 1946. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
2. "OKLA, AGGIES HALT NO. CAROLINA, 43-40; THE BIG MAN ADDS TWO POINTS TO HIS HIGH SCORE". The New York Times. March 27, 1946. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
3. "1953-1954 UNC Tar Heels Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2023.