North Carolina Presents Smith With 800th, Beating Wake Forest

It took a little longer than usual for North Carolina Coach Dean Smith to get victory No. 800.

The fourth-ranked Tar Heels (26-6) narrowly avoided a Saturday of upsets with an 86-84 overtime victory over Wake Forest (20-11) in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals to advance to a championship game today against Virginia.

Smith said it was merely another victory.

“I was after No. 26 and now we’re after No. 27. One at a time,” he said after becoming the third coach to reach the 800 milestone. Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp leads the group with 876 victories, followed by Clarence (Big House) Gaines, who won 828 at Winston Salem State.

In his 33rd season at North Carolina, Smith got his 800th on a day when six of the top eight teams in The Associated Press poll lost.

North Carolina wasn’t ensured of victory until Jerry Stackhouse scored on a driving layup with 5.3 seconds to play. Stackhouse said there was no question what was going to happen.

“I knew I was going to the basket if I got it,” he said. “I wasn’t going to try to take a little jump shot or anything. I was definitely going to the basket.”