UNC has been right on the doorstep of an ACC Tournament title, making the finals five of the past eight years, but recently haven’t managed to get the win they’ve needed to cut down the nets.

“We just haven’t gotten over the hump,” head coach Roy Williams said. “I’d like to, if we’re going to be there that long, let’s win the whole daggum thing.”

UNC hasn’t won an ACC Tournament since the year Tyler Hansbrough ran down the court, arms flailing, after hitting the game winning shot against Virginia Tech to send them to the 2008 finals.

Last year the Tar Heels saw a nine point lead in the finals over Notre Dame quickly slip away and turn to an eight-point loss.

“We had it right there,” Joel Berry said. “We were five or six minutes away from winning and the game just turned around. We’re looking back at last year, we’ve got to finish it out and that’s been a big thing for us is finishing games.”

Forward Justin Jackson played well in the tournament last year, but struggled in the finals, finishing 3-12 from the field with just seven points.

“Individually that game hurt quite a bit,” he said. “Because I felt like if I made one or two of those shots then we possibly could’ve won. So it definitely is fuel but for us there’s not individual-type stuff in it. We’re just trying to play for each other.”

Even though his team locked up the regular season title on Saturday with a win against Duke, Williams still expects his team to be ready to play when the tournament starts.

“My teams have taken me to seven final fours,” he said. “And all seven years we won the regular-season championship, so don’t tell me my team is going to be complacent because that ain’t happening.”

The Tar Heels begin their quest for the title that has been so elusive recently on Thursday. They are scheduled to play whichever team wins Wednesday’s game between Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

WCHL will begin broadcasting every game of the ACC tournament starting Thursday and continuing through the championship Saturday.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Women's Basketball to Face Texas Tech, Alabama at WBCA Showcase
The UNC women’s basketball program has added two more games to its non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season. The Tar Heels will face Texas Tech and Alabama as part of the WBCA Showcase in Orlando this November. Adding a Dash of Carolina Blue to the Happiest Place on Earth ✨ 📰 | https://t.co/zWPDqLzjnV pic.twitter.com/bQ51fNumF8 — […]
Report: Longtime Gonzaga Assistant Jorge Sanz to Join UNC Men's Basketball Staff
According to a report from Theo Lawson of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, longtime Gonzaga assistant Jorge Sanz is set to join UNC head coach Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill. Longtime Gonzaga assistant/Director of Operations Jorge Sanz is moving on to North Carolina after eight seasons in Spokane, where he was integral to the program's nonconference […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Cost of Business
Carolina has released its salary structure for the 2026-27 men’s basketball season, and right now it has to be a game of wait and see. Mike Malone is making $7.5 million in his first college head coaching season and his new top assistant Chuck Martin is making $500,000. Here is where it gets interesting. The […]
Report: Buffalo Transfer Angelo Brizzi Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Angelo Brizzi, who spent the 2025-26 season with Buffalo, reportedly committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the transfer portal Wednesday. Inside Carolina first reported the news. UNC will be Brizzi’s fifth school in five years. The guard began his career at Villanova in 2022 – entering college in the same class […]
Freshmen, Transfers and More: Every Newcomer Joining UNC Men's Basketball for the 2026-27 Season
As Michael Malone embarks on his first season as the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball program, he’s gotten busy securing the additions of several newcomers to the program. Malone and his staff have mined from traditional high school recruiting and the transfer portal to fill out Carolina’s roster, and that work is continuing […]
Former UNC Player Ed Davis Among Several Indicted in NBA Gambling Scandal
Ed Davis, who played for the UNC men’s basketball team from 2008 through 2010 and helped the Tar Heels win the 2009 national title, is among six former NBA players who are being charged with conspiracy, bribery and money laundering as the result of a federal investigation. An indictment published Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s […]
Check out the Full Schedule for UNC's ACC Network Takeover
The ACC Network will air a full day of UNC games from the 2025-26 academic year Wednesday, July 1. It’s part of a series of ACC Network Takeovers, which started June 24 and include all 18 member schools. UNC’s takeover includes wall-to-wall coverage from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The broadcast day gets underway with […]
Chansky's Notebook: What Happened to Henri?
Blame Henri Veesaar's baffling slide in the NBA Draft on the muddled way the league and its agents do business.
UNC Men's Basketball to Face Illinois in Nashville Hoops Showdown in January
UNC is adding another high-level non-conference matchup to its 2026-27 schedule. The Tar Heels will face Illinois in the Nashville Hoops Showdown on Saturday, Jan. 30. The matchup has been confirmed by both programs and by Bridgestone Arena, which will host the game. Tar Heels 🆚 Fighting Illini in Nashville pic.twitter.com/UuhExCctMB — Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) […]
UNC's Henri Veesaar Drafted by Los Angeles Clippers, Traded to Atlanta Hawks
Henri Veesaar is league-bound. The seven-foot center, who spent the 2025-26 season with UNC after committing to the Tar Heels out of the transfer portal, was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 52 overall pick in the NBA Draft, who then traded that pick to the Atlanta Hawks. Veesaar spent the first […]
›