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After a 62–57 loss to Duke in the regular-season finale, North Carolina likely has to win the ACC Tournament next weekend at the Greensboro Coliseum to make the NCAA tournament field. That pursuit will start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (ESPN2) in the second round as the No. 7 seed against the winner of Tuesday’s 4:30 first-round game between No. 10-seed Boston College (15–16) and No. 15-seed Louisville (2–18).
Here what Armando Bacot and RJ Davis had to say after Carolina’s loss to Duke.
CHAPEL HILL — Junior right-hander Connor Bovair fits in quite nicely as No. 12 Carolina’s No. 2 starter after his first two college seasons didn’t always go smoothly. He followed two solid outings to start the season with an impressive showing Saturday to get his first win of the season in the Tar Heels’ 7–5 win Saturday over Stony Brook before a sun-splashed crowd at Boshamer Stadium.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 11 Carolina battled from behind all afternoon and showed resilience, but only led for 55 seconds late in the game before quickly giving up two huge goals. Denver scored twice in the last 2:29 to take a gritty 9–8 men’s lacrosse victory over the Tar Heels on a sunny day at Dorrance Field, despite four goals from graduate transfer Sean Goldsmith.
Cameron Johnson and Harrison Barnes each scored 20 points, and Cole Anthony hit 16 as all three earned victories Friday night after Reggie Bullock scored 15 in a Thursday win. Johnson scored 17 points in the second half as Brooklyn rallied from a 28-point deficit for a surprising 115–105 road win over Boston on his 27th birthday.
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.
GREENSBORO — Days after No. 18 North Carolina finished off a regular-season sweep of Duke, the two will go at it again. Carolina junior Alyssa Ustby wouldn’t want it any other way, as the rivals will face off at 6 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum.
GREENSBORO — Carolina shot itself into a third battle with Duke behind one of the Tar Heels’ best perimeter shooting halves of the season. Related: It’s good for No. 18 UNC to have the inside-outside combination of Eva Hodgson and Alyssa Ustby back.
Carolina could be seeded 6th, 7th or 8th next week at the ACC men’s basketball tournament. That won’t get settled until Saturday, but it looks likely that the Tar Heels will play during the evening session of the second round at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday.
Here what Coach Hubert Davis and Leaky Black had to say ahead of UNC’s home finale Saturday against Duke on senior day.
After Carolina made 47.1% of its 3-point attempts in the last two victories, there was a misconception among some fans that the Tar Heels have to shoot that well to keep winning. The reality is that average shooting from outside the arc has created enough spacing to help UNC win all season.
Cameron Johnson and Cole Anthony had their best scoring games of the season on a night that they were one of the few bright spots in their teams’ blowout road losses. Both had season-highs for points and field goals and their second-best game scores, along with frustration over the results of their games.
CHAPEL HILL — Second baseman Jackson Van De Brake brought outstanding defense to Carolina but didn’t seem to find his power stroke until he got to Chapel Hill. The junior transfer hit one home run in two seasons at Tacoma Community College but already has four this season. He blasted a pair of homers and drove in five runs as No. 13 UNC (6–3) outslugged VCU 14–10 Wednesday to complete a two-game series sweep.
When the No. 18 Carolina women play Thursday in the second round of the ACC Tournament, it will only be the third game this season with their top 11 players. That made the journey for Coach Courtney Banghart’s fourth Tar Heels team challenging. But, along the way, it developed depth that has made UNC one of the most versatile teams heading into the event at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Without Sacramento’s leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, Kings coach Mike Brown made Harrison Barnes the focal point of their offense on Tuesday night, and the 11-year veteran took advantage of the opportunity. Barnes came through with 29 points, four 3-pointers, nine rebounds, three assists and a 24.2 game score as Sacramento won at Oklahoma City 123–117 for the Kings’ fourth consecutive victory coming out of the All-Star break.
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