1998–99 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1998–99 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The team's head coach was Bill Guthridge , who was in his second 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 .
After a third-place finish during the conference regular season, the Tar Heels advanced to the ACC tournament title game where they fell to Duke . North Carolina received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the West region, but were upset by Weber State in the opening round to finish 24–10 (10–6 ACC).
Roster
1998–99 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
C
00
Brendan Haywood
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
265 lb (120 kg)
So
Dudley
Greensboro, North Carolina
G
5
Ed Cota
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
177 lb (80 kg)
Jr
St. Thomas More School
Brooklyn, New York
G
11
Michael Booker
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
So
Brentwood Academy
Sandersville, Georgia
F/C
13
Ademola Okulaja
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
231 lb (105 kg)
Sr
John F. Kennedy High School
Berlin, Germany
G
21
Terrence Newby
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
207 lb (94 kg)
Jr
Jordan-Matthews
Siler City, North Carolina
G
22
Scott Williams
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
156 lb (71 kg)
Sr
Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
G
22
Ronald Curry
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
F
24
Max Owens
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
Mount Zion Academy
Macon, Georgia
G/F
25
Jason Capel
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Fr
St. John's Prospect Hall
Fayetteville, North Carolina
F
32
Orlando Meléndez
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
So
McDowell
Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico
F
35
Brad Frederick
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Sr
Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
F/C
50
Brian Bersticker
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Kempsville
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 1998 *
No. 11
Appalachian State
W 87–64
1–0
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Nov 16, 1998 *
No. 10
Florida International
W 65–44
2–0
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Nov 18, 1998 *
No. 10
Georgia
W 65–58
3–0
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Nov 23, 1998 *
No. 9
at Hampton
W 86–75
4–0
Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia
Nov 25, 1998 *
No. 9
vs. No. 14 Purdue Preseason NIT
W 54–47
5–0
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Nov 27, 1998 *
No. 9
vs. No. 3 Stanford Preseason NIT
W 57–49[ 2]
6–0
Madison Square Garden New York, New York
Nov 30, 1998 *
No. 3
at Middle Tennessee
W 75–54
7–0
Murphy Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 4, 1998 *
No. 3
vs. Old Dominion
W 63–61
8–0
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 5, 1998 *
No. 3
vs. College of Charleston
L 64–66
8–1
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Dec 8, 1998 *
No. 7
Buffalo
W 98–49
9–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 12, 1998 *
No. 7
UNC Charlotte
W 75–73 OT
10–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 17, 1998 *
No. 7
Louisville
W 77–72
11–1
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 19, 1998 *
No. 7
at Dartmouth
W 82–68
12–1
Leede Arena Hanover, New Hampshire
ACC Regular Season
Dec 22, 1998
No. 7
at Georgia Tech
L 64–66
12–2 (0–1)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 29, 1998 *
No. 9
at California
L 71–78
12–3
The Arena in Oakland Berkeley, California
Jan 2, 1999
No. 9
No. 14 Clemson
W 69–53
13–3 (1–1)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 5, 1999
No. 11
at Florida State
W 72–54
14–3 (2–1)
Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 13, 1999
No. 9
No. 5 Maryland
L 76–89
14–4 (2–2)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 16, 1999
No. 9
at NC State
W 59–56
15–4 (3–2)
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
Jan 21, 1999
No. 10
Virginia
W 71–47
16–4 (4–2)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 23, 1999
No. 10
at Wake Forest
W 52–40
17–4 (5–2)
Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 27, 1999
No. 10
at No. 2 Duke
L 77–89
17–5 (5–3)
Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina
Jan 31, 1999
No. 10
Georgia Tech
W 75–66
18–5 (6–3)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 4, 1999
No. 12
at Clemson
L 63–78
18–6 (6–4)
Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina
Feb 7, 1999
No. 12
Florida State
W 98–64
19–6 (7–4)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 13, 1999
No. 12
at No. 7 Maryland
L 64–81
19–7 (7–5)
Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland
Feb 17, 1999
No. 14
NC State
W 62–53
20–7 (8–5)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 20, 1999
No. 14
at Virginia
W 67–66
21–7 (9–5)
University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 23, 1999
No. 14
Wake Forest
W 68–65 OT
22–7 (10–5)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 27, 1999
No. 14
No. 1 Duke
L 61–81
22–8 (10–6)
Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ACC Tournament
Mar 5, 1999 *
(3) No. 15
vs. (6) Georgia Tech Quarterfinals
W 78–49
23–8
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 6, 1999 *
(3) No. 15
vs. (2) No. 5 Maryland Semifinals
W 86–79[ 3]
24–8
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 7, 1999 *
(3) No. 15
vs. (1) No. 1 Duke Championship Game
L 73–96[ 4]
24–9
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 11, 1999 *
(3 W) No. 13
vs. (14 W) Weber State First Round
L 74–76[ 5]
24–10
KeyArena Seattle, Washington
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West region.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
[ 6]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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 Final AP 11 10 9 3 7 7 7 9 11 9 10 10 12 12 14 14 15 13 Not released Coaches 11 11^ 8 3 6 6 6 9 10 7 8 9 9 10 12 14 15 13 18
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.
References
^ sports-reference.com 1998-99 Atlantic Coast Conference Season Summary
^ "Youthful North Carolina Outplays No. 3 Stanford" . The New York Times . November 28, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2021 .
^ "Inspired Tar Heels Hold Off Terrapins" . The New York Times . March 7, 1998. Retrieved July 16, 2021 .
^ "Blue Devils Run the Table, Leaving the A.C.C in Awe" . The New York Times . March 8, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2021 .
^ "Wildcats Stun Third-Seeded Tar Heels" . The Washington Post . March 12, 1999. Retrieved July 15, 2021 .
^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF) . University of North Carolina Athletics . Retrieved July 15, 2021 .
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