By R.L. Bynum

If rain washes out the rest of the ACC tournament, even Carolina’s big victory over Virginia probably isn’t enough for the Tar Heels to be an NCAA tournament regional host.

UNC (35–21) is up to 27th in the RPI after that 10–2 victory over No. 12-ranked Virginia on Thursday, but only 16 teams are hosts.

With victories over Clemson (No. 6 ranked and 6th-best RPI) in the semifinals and Wake Forest (No. 1 ranked and atop the RPI list), the Tar Heels would make an excellent case to be a host but may also need help from other teams faltering. UNC’s semifinal game with the Tigers is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (ACC Network).

The NCAA will announce the 16 regional hosts at 8 p.m. Sunday.

If the ACC can’t get the rest of its tournament played, though, Carolina seems destined to be a No. 2 seed, with the only question being where they’ll play. Until the NCAA releases the field at noon Monday, we can only go by projections.

In projections released Saturday morning, D1 Baseball has UNC playing at Nashville, Tenn., and Baseball America sees the Tar Heels ending up in Conway, S.C.

On Friday, D1 Baseball had UNC ticketed for Auburn, Ala., before Saturday’s projection for Nashville with No. 1-seed Vanderbilt. It lists Kent State as the No. 3 seed and Lipscomb as the No. 4 seed.

Under BA’s projection, Carolina could get a third shot at Coastal Carolina after the Tar Heels dropped both games of a home-and-home series during the regular season. The Chanticleers won 12–7 in Chapel Hill on March 28 and 8–6 against a short-handed Tar Heels team on May 16. BA’s projection has Southern Cal as the No. 3 seed and Utah Valley as the No. 4 seed.

D1 Baseball may be projecting UNC to Nashville because there aren’t that many close projected non-ACC hosts, given that it sees South Carolina as a host. BA does project the Gamecocks as a host, though.