Davis says Heels have sharpened mindset, got ‘chippy’ in practice

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said Tuesday that the Tar Heels have spent the days since the ACC tournament sharpening their mindset with some chippiness, embracing the competitive edge they will need when they open the NCAA tournament Thursday night against VCU. He said that No. 21 UNC recalibrated after the frustrating effort in the loss to Clemson in practice heading into Thursday’s 6:50 p.m. NCAA tournament first-round game (TNT) against VCU in Greenville, S.C.

Davis said Monday’s practice ‘spirited,’ ‘most competitive’ Heels have had

Coming off the sting of the poor performance for most of No. 21 North Carolina’s loss to Clemson in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, Coach Hubert Davis said that the team has been spirited ahead of Thursday’s ACC tournament opener. After a team dinner at his house Sunday to watch the bracket revealed, the mood quickly shifted from celebration to motivation, he said Monday night on the “Hubert Davis Live” radio show.

UNC pours on offense, gets good pitching, defense to finish off sweep at Cal

North Carolina finished off its first ACC sweep of the season, smothering California with one final burst of offense and power pitching in a 10–2 win in Berkeley, Calif. No. 15 UNC (17–3–1, 4–2 ACC) controlled the weekend from start to finish, outscoring Cal 14–5, nearly a year after the Tar Heels’ last road sweep against Wake Forest.

Transfer tracker: Cadeau says confidence higher than at UNC, but Michigan, Vandy fall in league finals; Jackson’s Red Storm win Big East

Ian Jackson was the only former UNC player of four to win in conference championship games this weekend, but he had the smallest role. Elliot Cadeau’s No. 3 Michigan team, despite his double-double in the Big Ten tournament championship game, and No. 22 Vanderbilt, with Tyler Nickel and Jalen Washington, both came up short in title games on Sunday. Michigan, Vanderbilt, St. John’s, Ven-Allen Lubin’s N.C. State team and Puff Johnson’s Ohio State team will all play in the NCAA tournament.

UNC draws 6 seed, trip to Greenville, S.C., for early-round games

No. 21 North Carolina is headed to Greenville, S.C., for the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Tar Heels (24–8) are in the South Regional, which has Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Houston. UNC faces VCU (27–7) on Thursday in the first round. A win would advance the Tar Heels to a second-round game Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s game in Greenville between No. 3 Illinois (24–8) and No. 14 Penn (18–11).