No. 5 North Carolina advances to Super Regionals with win over Oklahoma
No. 5 North Carolina advances to Super Regionals with win over Oklahoma
Baseball season at Oklahoma is over.
The Sooners saw their season come to an end Monday evening in a winner-take-all game against national No. 5 seed North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, 14-4. OU had beaten the Tar Heels on Sunday to force one of the favorites for the national championship to Monday's brink.
But UNC showed why it earned that fifth seed when it had to.
North Carolina scored those 14 runs by pounding out 17 hits and drawing six walks against a depleted Oklahoma pitching staff. Coach Skip Johnson used seven pitchers Monday as he couldn't to go any of his usual weekend starters nor closer Dylan Crooks as the weekend's previous four games had left them exhausted.
Reid Hensley, OU's starter, gave up the first five runs of the game, three of which came in the first inning. All three were unearned as a throwing on error on Kyle Branch extended North Carolina's initial time at the plate. Cleanup hitter Gavin Gallher reached and Luke Stevenson, who walked in the plate appearance before, advanced to second. The next two Tar Heels batters hit a double and a single to bring them home.
OU responded with two runs in the second inning, but North Carolina tacked on four in the third and another in the fifth to take a commanding lead into the late innings.
Easton Carmichael was the only Oklahoma player to collect two hits. His ninth-inning single provided an RBI and Jason Walk's seventh-inning home run scored OU's third run. Every OU pitcher but one allowed at least one run.
North Carolina advanced to the Super Regionals for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons. The Sooners finished the season with a record of 38-22 overall, having made the NCAA Tournament for a fourth year in a row.
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But if a team needs a microwave shooter off the bench who can play off stars and space the floor, Lanier can help an offense tomorrow. Advertisement Sallis plays like a guy who just knows how to hoop. He is a slippery, poised scorer who scores from midrange with advanced body control and has a passing feel. That last point is important, since he measured at only 6-4 without shoes, so he might need to lean into some of his point skills at the next level. At his core, though, Sallis is a bucket-getter. He made 51 midrange pull-ups as a junior then 78 as a senior, hitting 51.2% of his 252 attempts. He's been very streaky from 3-point range, but his touch from midrange and from the line (near 80%) are positive indicators that he'll figure out his catch-and-shoot 3-point jumper. If the shot comes around, he could become a solid secondary creator who contributes on both ends. Yang has a chance to stick in the pros as a throwback big with a massive 7-1 frame. Coming from China, he plays with an old-school style with polished footwork, touch and craft around the basket, and some slick passing skills. Yang consistently makes quick reads out of the post and on handoffs, so he can do some of the things you'd see from an Alperen Şengün or Isaiah Hartenstein type of big. And much like them, he flashes a shooting touch that may or may not translate. Advertisement Defensively, he's a strong positional rebounder and space-eater in the paint who uses his size to wall off drivers and clean the glass. But Yang hasn't shown the foot speed to defend in space or comfortably switch, even against Chinese competition. If anything holds him back from carving out an NBA career, it'll be his defense. But Yang's offensive talent gives him a chance to be the best Chinese big man to play in the NBA since Yao Ming. And if his athleticism improves to the point he can survive on defense, then his offensive upside gives him the potential to be a major steal.
