TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Challenging Carolina pitchers generally hasn’t gone well for opponents, and that didn’t change Saturday. This time, the umpire questioned the pause in UNC starter Max Carlson’s delivery, but the right-hander took it out on Wright State. There’s no question that this motivated Carlson, who threw 6⅔ one-hit shutout innings as Carolina extended its season with a 5–0 victory Saturday in the Terre Haute Regional at Bob Warn Field over No. 4-seed Wright State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Injuries were a big reason North Carolina wasn’t at full strength most of the season, and they were a huge factor Monday as the Tar Heels’ season ended emotionally. But No. 20-ranked and No. 6 Carolina nearly overcame it all before dropping a heartbreaker 71–69 to No. 12-ranked and No. 3-seed Ohio State at the Schottenstein Center in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

If the St. John’s 66–64 First Four victory Thursday night over Purdue is any indication, Carolina will have to play excellent perimeter defense to beat the Red Storm, which features a familiar star. St. John’s (23–8) earned the right to face the No. 20 Tar Heels (21-10) in a 4 p.m. first-round game Saturday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, with a victory in the same arena by scoring an NCAA tournament school record 11 3-pointers.

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

CHAPEL HILL — There was plenty of frustration from Carolina’s Armando Bacot after what could have been his last game at the Smith Center ended with so many missed opportunities. The resignation to the Tar Heels’ plight after their 62–57 loss Saturday to Duke was evident on his face, knowing that it will probably take four wins next week at the ACC Tournament to guarantee they make the NCAA field.

GREENSBORO — No. 18 Carolina missed chances down the stretch against No. 13 Duke in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, and the Tar Heels now hope they don’t miss the chance to be an NCAA tournament host in two weeks because of that. No. 7-seed UNC had two chances to take the lead on 3-point attempts in the final 45 seconds. But, after a third shot from outside the arc was blocked, Shayeann Day-Wilson’s free throw with three seconds left secured a gritty 44–40 win Friday for No. 2 seed Duke to avenge a pair of regular-season losses to its rival.

Well, that was a tale of two halves. After outlasting Notre Dame in South Bend on Wednesday on a season-low shooting effort, UNC came out red-hot against suddenly slumping Virginia, knocking down nearly 60% of its shots in the first half, including nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts. The oft-maligned Pete Nance led the way with a 4-4 effort from three, and the Tar Heels built a 16-point halftime lead.

After one of Carolina’s ugliest first halves in years, the Tar Heels somehow came alive after halftime and took the first step toward possibly saving their season. It took UNC less than nine minutes in the second half to match its first-half point total to get back into the game. From there, the Tar Heels did enough to win 63–59 Wednesday night over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

CHAPEL HILL — Whenever Deja Kelly adds hot shooting to her all-around good game, opponents are helpless to stop her. And they aren’t about to stop No. 19 North Carolina. Wake Forest had no answers for her or any other Tar Heels on a day when they shoot 50.8% from the floor and made 35.3% of their 3-point attempts.

CHAPEL HILL — It doesn’t seem to matter how much Caleb Love struggles with his shot; his determination to figure out how to win a game for Carolina stays strong, and he has a way of changing some games. That happened again Tuesday night when he provided the needed spark after Boston College had cut the Tar Heels’ lead to one with six minutes left.