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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.
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.
After three consecutive ACC victories, North Carolina is up to 45th in the NET rankings and improving its NCAA tournament resume with Selection Sunday a week from Sunday. The Tar Heels (19–11, 11–8 ACC) have done what they can control with wins over Notre Dame, Virginia and Florida State and have a chance for their second Quad 1 win Saturday at home against Duke, which is 24th in the NET rankings.
DURHAM — You couldn’t blame Duke’s players if they did a few double-takes Sunday during their senior-day women’s basketball game against North Carolina. The overwhelming majority of the sellout crowd of 9,314 fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium wore Duke blue, but the folks in Carolina blue were loud and all but nullified the Blue Devils’ home-court advantage. The 45–41 win completed UNC’s second consecutive regular-season sweep of its rivals.
Carolina has a history of nightmare games at Tallahassee, but Monday’s visit was more like a dream — although there were some restless moments in the last six minutes. Sure, the Tar Heels were too sloppy at times, and the near collapse with an 18-point lead cut to four was discouraging. But they further made their case to make the NCAA tournament field by snapping a three-game losing streak at the Leon County Civic Center with a 77–66 victory, their third in a row.
North Carolina moved up four spots to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll heading into this week’s ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Tar Heels (20–9) rebounded from a heartbreaking 61–59 senior night loss Thursday against No. 9 Virginia Tech by ruining the senior day for Duke (24–5) on Sunday 45–41.
After sweeping No. 11 Duke in the regular season, No. 22 North Carolina is a win away from taking on the Blue Devils at the ACC tournament in Greensboro for their third meeting this season. The No. 7-seed Tar Heels (20–9, 11–7 ACC) will need to win a second-round game to make that happen. They play at the Greensboro Coliseum at 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s 3:30 first-round game between No. 15-seed Pittsburgh (10–29, 3–15) and No. 10 Clemson (16–14, 7–11).
DURHAM — In a torrid defensive battle, No. 22 North Carolina broke through with the game on the line in the fourth quarter and won the game at the line. The Tar Heels rode a 14–2 fourth-quarter run to their second consecutive regular-season sweep of Duke, making all nine free-throw attempts in the final period.
Hear what UNC’s RJ Davis, Armando Bacot, Caleb Love and Pete Nance had to say after the win over Virginia.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina may have shot itself off the bubble in one evening. Where the Tar Heels go from here, as always with this team, is hard to predict. But their 71–63 victory over No. 6 Virginia Saturday at the Smith Center for an elusive Quad 1 win that won’t get erased at least puts them in a better position to make the NCAA tournament.
There was outstanding starting pitching, drama at the end, and an atmosphere worthy of the postseason before a record crowd to see two in-state, highly ranked teams battle. No. 11 East Carolina (4–1) broke loose for six eighth-inning runs after seven shutout innings from UNC starter Max Carlson and held on for a 6–5 victory Friday over the No. 12 Tar Heels in front of 6,003 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville.
CHAPEL HILL — All of North Carolina’s starters are back, and the No. 22 Tar Heels showed Thursday that they’re loaded for a big late-season run. But that nearly full roster ran up against one of the hottest teams in the country. With junior wing Alyssa Ustby and guard Eva Hodgson back, UNC battled No. 9 Virginia Tech well all night before losing a heartbreaker, 61–59, as the Hokies won their seventh game in a row and ninth in the last 10 games.
Whew. For a team fighting for its postseason life, UNC showed a less-than-inspired effort for the first 20 minutes against Notre Dame in South Bend on Wednesday night.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 12 North Carolina continued a productive early pattern of impressive pitching from newcomers and mixed in a power surge. Junior transfer right-hander Jake Knapp delivered the latest outstanding pitching debut, yielding two hits and striking out four in 5⅔ shutout innings in UNC’s fourth consecutive victory.
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