UNC's 5 Most Painful Hoops Losses Ever

Okay, a month has passed so we figured it might be okay to advance this ranking, which was obviously triggered by the manner the Tar Heels lost in the national title game. Please post your five in the thread this piece is posted.

Here are the 5 most painful losses in Carolina’s basketball history:

5 – March 21, 1987, Syracuse 79, UNC 75: Elite 8 game in which a UNC senior class that went 14-0 twice in ACC play had one more chance to get to a Final Four, something Carolina hadn’t done in five years, and they fell short. Kenny Smith, J.R. Reid, Joe Wolf, Jeff Lebo and a terrific supporting cast were outrebounded by 12 and attempted just 8 free throws (to Syracuse’s 29) on an afternoon the Tar Heels didn't match Syracuse's toughness. Cuse played Providence the following week in the Final Four before falling to Indiana. Carolina likely would have beaten the Friars and had a chance for Smith to finally beat Bobby Knight in an NCAA Tournament game. Oh well, it didn’t work out that way.

4 – March 28, 1977, Marquette 67, UNC 59: The national championship game that many critics say is the only big game Dean Smith ever made a decision that backfired and cost his team a victory. After trailing by 12 at halftime, Carolina roared back using an 18-4 run to take the lead at 45-43, but after a Marquette basket tied the game, Smith called for his team to go into the Four Corners offense to try and pull Marquette out of a zone. The Warriors went to a man defense after more than 3 minutes, and almost immediately blocked a UNC shot near the basket, scored on their next possession and the Heels never found their rhythm again.

3 – March 22, 1984, Indiana 72, UNC 68: The last UNC game for Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan, and the Tar Heels lost to a Hoosiers’ team that likely wouldn’t have won if they played another 19 times. But, with Dean Smith sitting Jordan with 2 fouls in the first half, the Heels simply never found the groove that made them the best team in the nation and favorites going into the tournament. Up next in the Elite 8 would have been a Virginia team that went 6-8 in ACC play (UNC went 14-0), so a trip to the Final Four was almost a given. Almost.

2 – March 28, 1998, Utah 65, UNC 59: Well, these Tar Heels were the best team in the nation and should have won the national title. Utah was very good, but Carolina simply did not play well that day. And had the Heels advanced to the title game they would have faced a Kentucky team that wasn’t nearly as talented. This was a huge missed opportunity for Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, and Ed Cota and company. The six-man starting rotation didn't help that day, either.

1 – April 4, 2016, Villanova 77, UNC 74: A national title game that will go down as one of the best ever played except when regarding Tar Heels’ fans opinions of the game. And, it just may be the greatest close to a major sports championship in American history, factoring in Marcus Paige’s off-balance 3 that tied it with 4.7 seconds left and then the game-winner by Villanova. It hurts even more for UNC that the Heels didn't play that well, scoring just 26 points in the paint on the night. No way any other loss can trump this in Carolina’s history.