Dawson Garcia had a few big games in a challenging first season at Minnesota and enjoyed one last one at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. In the first round Wednesday, Garcia put up his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds in addition to six assists as the No. 14-seed Gophers beat No. 11-seed Nebraska 78–75.
Author: R.L. Bynum
Cook’s spectacular homer-stealing catch sparks UNC as it rolls to gain doubleheader split, give Virginia its first loss
CHAPEL HILL — With one spectacular, unconventional play, right fielder Casey Cook swiped the momentum No. 14 North Carolina needed to hand No. 17 Virginia its first loss of the season. After Cook stole a home run from Virginia’s Kyle Teel in the fifth inning, the Tar Heels quickly took the lead and rolled to a 6–0 victory. That earned a doubleheader split to salvage a game from their three-game series to open ACC play.
Tar Heels in NBA: Johnson scores 15 points in Nets’ OT win to cap rough week, but reportedly stands to sign huge contract in offseason
During a rough week for Cameron Johnson, at least he helped Brooklyn get a hard-fought overtime victory on Friday. After he missed the Nets’ Thursday’s 118–113 at Milwaukee with right knee soreness, he was back in the starting lineup for Brooklyn’s 124–123 overtime victory Friday at Minnesota.
Pitchers fan 18 as Heels’ bullpen dominant, but UNC can’t rally against unbeaten Virginia
CHAPEL HILL — In Carolina’s first three losses this season, the bullpen wasted good starts. The script flipped for the No. 14 Tar Heels, with the relievers pitching well after a rough night from their starter. Leaving 11 runners on base snuffed UNC’s chances to rally as No. 17 Virginia became the only remaining unbeaten team in the country with a 7–3 victory Friday in the ACC opener for both teams to snap the Heels’ seven-game win streak. Alabama and N.C. State were also unbeaten before losing Friday.
UNC women likely to host NCAA games, says ESPN’s Creme, who sees Elite 8 as their ceiling
The No. 19 North Carolina women will likely host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games next weekend. Only a big run by Oklahoma in this weekend’s Big 12 Tournament could have prevented that, but the Sooners lost in the semifinals Saturday. Charlie Creme, who projects brackets for ESPN, said in a media availability on Friday that he has the Tar Heels (21–10) as the No. 15 overall seed, giving them a bit of a buffer since the top 16 seeds host first- and second-round games. His No. 16 seed is Villanova (17–3).
UNC has no shot at NCAA tournament berth, wouldn’t even be No. 1 NIT seed, Lunardi says
North Carolina figured to need at least three wins in Greensboro to secure an NCAA tournament berth and, after getting only one, the Tar Heels are firmly on the bubble that is likely about to burst. Two prominent bracket projections — from Joe Lunardi on ESPN and Jerry Palm on CBS — list the Tar Heels as the fifth team out of the field. Both list Clemson as one of the teams ahead of them but still not in the field.
RJ Davis can’t will UNC to win without Bacot, season may be over
GREENSBORO — RJ Davis tried to will North Carolina to a victory that the No. 7-seed Tar Heels desperately needed to make the NCAA tournament, but he needed help. He didn’t get nearly enough of it. His 24 points and four 3-pointers couldn’t avoid a possibly season-ending 68–59 loss Thursday to No. 2-seed Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Videos: Hubert Davis, RJ Davis, Bacot, Nance and Love talk about UNC’s loss to Virginia
Hear what UNC’s Hubert Davis, RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Pete Nance and Caleb Love had to say after the Tar Heels’ loss to Virginia.
There were surprising NET positives from UNC’s win over BC, but Tar Heels still have to keep winning to make NCAA field
GREENSBORO — North Carolina needs to keep winning to make the NCAA tournament but there was a surprising good sign for the Tar Heels in Thursday’s updated NET rankings.
Good, Bad and Ugly Report: Boston College
Well, if you were going to script a run through Greensboro to secure UNC a berth in the NCAA Tournament, this was a pretty good one. Carolina opened ACC Tournament play clicking on offense, locked in on defense, and rolled to an 85–61 win over Boston College on Wednesday night. T