| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 1956–57 |
| Prev Year: | 1955–56 |
| Next Year: | 1957–58 |
| Team: | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Coachrank: | 1 |
| Aprank: | 1 |
| Record: | 32–0 |
| Conf Record: | 14–0 |
| Bowl Result: | W 54-533OT vs. Kansas |
The 1956–57 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team was the varsity college basketball team that represented the University of North Carolina. The head coach was Frank McGuire. The team played its home games at Woollen Gymnasium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team was the second undefeated national champion in NCAA basketball history and was the first ACC team to win a title. The team notably won its last two games in triple overtime. The Tar Heels leading scorer was player of the year, small forward Lennie Rosenbluth.
In the semifinal against Jumping Johnny Green and Michigan State, to tie the game in regulation, Pete Brennan, usually the power forward, after gathering the rebound, ran the floor like a guard and put in a jump shot with a soft touch. Three overtimes later, UNC won 74 to 70.
This placed undefeated North Carolina for the championship against Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas. Again the game went to triple overtime. Center Joe Quigg made the winning free throws.
| No. | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Lennie Rosenbluth | F | 6 - 5 | 180 | Senior | Bronx, New York | |
| 11 | Ken Rosemond | G | 5 - 10 | 155 | Junior | Hillsborough, North Carolina | |
| 20 | Bob Young | C | 6 - 6 | 220 | Senior | Queens, New York | |
| 22 | Roy Searcy | F | 6 - 4 | 185 | Junior | Draper, North Carolina | |
| 31 | Gehrmann Holland | F | 6 - 3 | 200 | Sophomore | Beaufort, North Carolina | |
| 32 | Bob Cunningham | G | 6 - 4 | 190 | Junior | New York City, New York | |
| 33 | Danny Lotz | F | 6 - 7 | 198 | Sophomore | Northport, New York | |
| 35 | Pete Brennan | F | 6 - 6 | 190 | Junior | Brooklyn, New York | |
| 40 | Tommy Kearns | G | 5 - 11 | 191 | Junior | Bergenfield, New Jersey | |
| 41 | Joe Quigg | C | 6 - 9 | 210 | Junior | Brooklyn, New York | |
| Reference:[1] | |||||||
|+Schedule[2] |-!colspan=9 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| Regular season
|-!colspan=8 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| ACC tournament
|-!colspan=8 style="background:#56A0D3; color:#FFFFFF;"| NCAA tournament
Hired away from St. John's in 1952 to make North Carolina basketball competitive with rival NC State, legendary coach Frank McGuire mined his native New York for talent and put together a team that won the national championship by slowing down dominating Kansas center Wilt Chamberlain. A veteran lineup led by star forward Lennie Rosenbluth, who averaged 28 points, finished the season a perfect 32–0.
See main article: 1956–57 NCAA University Division men's basketball rankings. [3]