When Virginia took two of three at North Carolina back in the first March series, the season’s ceiling appeared to be a trip to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series.
Fast forward to May, and the Tar Heels are ranked No. 2 in the country — their only series loss this year was to the Cavaliers — but Virginia is unranked. Somewhere along the way, a costly April slump tanked Virginia out of regional hosting consideration and squarely into No. 3-seed territory, or at best a low No. 2 seed.
Now, the Cavaliers require a solid ACC Tournament run to boost their chances of heading to a more favorable regional cohort. If Virginia loses in its first game, the Cavaliers could fall dangerously close to the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bracket bubble…