The team played its home games at Woollen Gymnasium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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.

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.