1st Semi-Final - 1982 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball

1982 NCAA Semi-Final Men's Basketball

New Orleans, LA

March 27, 1982

Houston Cougars vs. North Carolina Tarheels

North Carolina returned to the Final Four for the 9th time in 1982. North Carolina had only won the national title once, in 1957. The Tarheels made it all the way to the title game in 1981 but lost to Indiana. Houston was playing in it's third Final Four. The previous two times (1967,1968) the Cougars lost to eventual champion UCLA in the semi-final round.

There is something wrong with the audio on this video. The announcers can be heard clearly but if you listen closely you can hear the lady who announces the time every 10 seconds. Thankfully it doesn't drown out the announcers but it is still annoying.

North Carolina scored the first 14 points of the game. Houston couldn't seem to get anything right at the beginning of the first half. North Carolina seemed to do everything right as they took a 14-0 lead. Houston eventually settled down and started hitting shots. The Cougars outscored the Tarheels 13-4 leading up to the second TV timeout. The Cougars continued to play strong in the first half tying the game up at 29-29 with less than two minutes to go until half time. The first half ended with the score 31-29 in favor of North Carolina.

The second half wasn't any better for Houston. Rob Williams, their top player who had averaged over 20 points per game, didn't hit a single field goal in the entire game. The Cougars pulled to within 3 points late in the game but the Tarheels went on another tear and opened up a 10 point lead. The Cougars rallied once again but weren't aggressive enough to take control of the game. The final score was 68-63.

One tactic that North Carolina used once they had the lead was to just pass the ball around and force the defence to chase it. There was no shot clock in NCAA play at this point and there wouldn't be one until the 1985-86 season.

This wasn't a great game. The winning margin was only 5 points but North Carolina was in charge for the most part in the second half. Houston had moments when they shined but there just weren't enough of them and for the most part they were in the first half.