<P> Guthridge retired in 2000 and North Carolina turned to Matt Doherty , the head coach at Notre Dame and a player on the 1982 championship team , to lead the Tar Heels . Doherty had little success while at North Carolina . In his first season , the Heels were ranked # 1 in the polls in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and finished with a 26 -- 7 record . But Doherty 's second season was the worst in recent history as the Tar Heels finished the season with a record of 8 -- 20 , missing postseason play entirely for the first time since the 1965 -- 66 season ( including a record 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances ) and finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1962 ( Dean Smith 's first year as coach ) . They also finished 4 -- 12 in the ACC -- only the program 's second losing ACC record ever . The 12 losses were six more than the Tar Heels had ever suffered in a single season of ACC play , and placed them in a tie for 7th place -- the program 's first finish below fourth place ever . The season also saw the end of UNC 's run of 31 straight 20 - win seasons and 35 straight seasons of finishing third or higher in the ACC . After bringing in one of the top 5 incoming classes for the 2002 -- 2003 season , the Tar Heels started the season by knocking off a top 5 Kansas team and going on to win the Preseason NIT and returning to the AP top 25 . North Carolina went on to finish the season 17 -- 15 , missing the NCAA tournament . Matt Doherty led the Tar Heels to the third round of the NIT , where they ended their season with a loss to Georgetown . </P>
when was the last time unc did not make the ncaa tournament
2003