Morning Heel: May 14th

Good morning Tar Heel fans! Its time for another edition of the Morning Heel, where we take a look at some Tar Heel links from around the web. The Diamond Heels are finishing up their season and the ACC playoffs are coming up soon. Last night, the Tar Heels beat Gardner-Webb 7-2 in their last non-conference game of the year. All that remains now is a weekend series against Miami before the ACC tournament starts next Thursday. We have articles about all this and more for you this morning, enjoy!

Turner’s Take: Down the Stretch They Come

“It’s down to the final weekend in ACC baseball, and the conference tournament picture looks . . . well, it’s still pretty murky, actually. For the first time, ten teams will earn invitations to the tournament, with teams 7 through 10 playing in play-in games to reach pool play. As the teams come down the stretch, three have set themselves apart: Miami, Virginia and Florida State will finish atop the table in some order. Incredibly, 10 of the remaining 11 teams have a shot at one of the final seven spots.”

By Turner Walston of GoHeels.com

Cherry, Tar Heels Best GWU, 7-2

“Taylore Cherry tossed six shutout innings and Skye Bolt hit his second home run of the year as North Carolina defeated Gardner-Webb 7-2 Tuesday night at Shelby High School’s Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium. Wood Myers returned to the Carolina lineup after suffering a broken hand on April 25 and had a pair of hits and an RBI as the Tar Heels pounded out 16 hits against five Gardner-Webb pitchers.
Bolt had four hits including his third-inning blast to right center, while Tyler Ramirez added three and two RBIs on a night when the Tar Heels matched their season high in hits against the Runnin’ Bulldogs (23-27).”

From GoHeels.com

ACC men’s basketball tournament championship game moving to Saturday night

“ACC Commissioner John Swofford described it as a “Back to the Future moment” and, indeed, the conference has decided to relive a part of its past. The league on Tuesday announced that the ACC men’s basketball tournament championship game would be played on Saturday night, just as it was decades ago.
For the tournament’s first 28 years the championship game was on a Saturday – and on a Saturday night in 27 of those years. And so it will be again after what the conference described as a “mutually agreed upon” decision between the ACC and ESPN, the league’s primary television partner.”

By Andrew Carter of the News and Observer

ACC baseball: For Pack, it’s just win

ACC baseball title scenarios.

“If N.C. State wins one more baseball game than Pitt this weekend, then the Wolfpack will head to Greensboro for the ACC tournament. It’s as simple as that.
If they don’t … grab the spreadsheet because the Pack’s path to Greensboro gets complicated in a hurry.
The ACC has many ways of breaking ties for seeding and inclusion in its year-end tournament, including a coin flip and blind draw. Those final two options could save everybody some time.”

By Chris Wright of the News and Observer

UNC Basketball: 5 Critical Stats the Tar Heels Need to Improve in 2014-15

North Carolina has the talent and depth to have an outstanding 2014-15 basketball campaign.

“Head coach Roy Williams not only welcomes back five of the team’s top seven scorers from last season, but also adds a fantastic freshman class that will contribute immediately.
Even still, the Tar Heels definitely need to shore up some important areas if they are going to exceed last year’s 24-10 (13-5 ACC) record.”

From Doug Brodess of Bleacher Report