By R.L. Bynum
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The collapse and heartbreak for No. 21 North Carolina came after it looked like the Tar Heels were about to ease into the second round.
VCU erased a 19‑point second‑half lead from a UNC team that insisted afterward it was not worn down, pulling out an 82–78 overtime victory Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The loss gave the Tar Heels (24–9) back‑to‑back round‑of‑64 exits for the first time in program history and three consecutive losses to end the season.
“We had open looks. We had shots at the basket. We had executed plays. And we miss eight free throws. Sometimes the ball does not go in,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said.
The meltdown came after UNC played physical, combining fast play with strong defensive stretches and tough rebounding to build the lead.
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As for what went wrong late, Davis credited VCU’s resolve and lamented UNC’s mistakes.
“You really want to compliment VCU, their resiliency in down 19 to keep trying to find a way,” he said. “There were mistakes made that helped them come back. At times, we have done that all year.”
Carolina is now 48–2 all-time in NCAA games when it leads by at least 10 at halftime, both under Davis. The other was the 72–69 loss to Kansas in the 2022 national championship game.
The No. 11‑seed Rams got hot as Terrence Hill Jr. scored 23 of his game‑high 34 points after halftime while attacking UNC’s switches.
Junior center Henri Veesaar said VCU’s spacing and physicality flipped the game.
“They stretched us out. They were five out,” said Veesaar, who had one of his best games of the season, pouring in 26 points with three 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and four assists in 42 minutes.
“ We did not have anybody in the paint because they were able to knock down 3s, and they were able to drive us and get the rim and be physical in the drives and we were not as physical as them,” he said. “So, they were able to bump us and get shots that they should not get.”
UNC’s offense faded just as quickly. Seth Trimble said the Tar Heels tightened up.
“In the second half, we just slowed down too much, got a little tense, and we were not playing as loose as we were playing the whole game. That makes a difference,” said Trimble, who scored 15 points in his final UNC game.
Veesaar added that VCU’s defense forced UNC into tougher shots.
“They did a good job of packing the paint, and we were just kicking out. Obviously, we were 8‑for‑29 for threes. We were not able to hit those shots,” Veesaar said.
And, again, poor free‑throw shooting doomed the Heels, who were 8 of 15 after halftime and 12 of 20 for the game.
After Trimble gave UNC a one‑point lead by splitting two free throws with 35.1 seconds left in overtime, Hill answered with a 3‑pointer with 15.1 seconds remaining. Veesaar intentionally missed his second free-throw attempt after missing the first with 4.2 seconds left, and VCU got the ball back on a violation because it did not hit the rim.
The Rams’ Nyk Lewis sealed it with two free throws with 3.7 seconds left.
Davis didn’t play his bench much after halftime, which led to big minutes for starters.
“I feel like, especially at this time of year, the adrenaline is at level 1,000,” Trimble said when asked whether fatigue played a factor. “You are just trying to make a play, just trying to help the team win.”
Trimble said that tired legs were not the deciding factor.
“You get tired during the game, simple as that. You get tired, but we have been in that position many, many times this year,” he said.
Trimble nearly won it with a steal and a buzzer‑beating shot at the end of regulation, but also missed at the line in key moments.
Jarin Stevenson and Derek Dixon each added 11.
After Stevenson opened with a three‑point play, VCU reeled off eight straight points, turning bad UNC switches into three layups. Carolina responded with an 8–2 run. Dixon hit two 3‑pointers to spark a 12–3 spurt that pushed the lead to 26–18, and the Heels’ defense held VCU without a field goal for 12 of 13 possessions as the margin grew.
Two dunks by Trimble, including one off a steal, and another by Veesaar, fueled an 8–0 run that stretched the lead to 15 with 2:29 left. UNC led 39–28 at halftime.
UNC opened the second half with a 9–2 burst to go up 18 after Stevenson’s three‑point play with 17:01 left. A Dixon 3 off a Veesaar pass and a Trimble steal and layup stretched the margin to 19 with 14:58 left.
But VCU chipped away. After two Rams layups cut the lead to 11 with 7½ minutes left, Stevenson ended a scoring drought with a 3. VCU responded with a 12–0 run to pull within two on Hill’s 3 with 3:56 left.
A Dixon drive ended the run, and a Veesaar dunk plus a free throw pushed the lead to five with 1:59 left. But Hill hit a jumper, Lewis made one of two free throws, and, after a Trimble miss and a five‑second call on UNC, Hill tied it on a driving layup with 11 seconds left. Veesaar turned it over with 2.4 seconds remaining, but Trimble stole the inbounds pass and missed a jumper at the horn.
Neither team scored in overtime until Lewis’ driving layup with 2:08 remaining gave VCU its first lead since early in the game.
Davis said afterward that he could not yet step back and evaluate what two straight first‑round exits mean for the program.
“I am just thinking about these guys and the rest of the guys that are in the locker room,” he said. He made a point to praise his seniors. “His devotion to this team, to this program, and to this university should be celebrated,” he said of Trimble.
Notes
— After VCU only had five turnovers in winning the Atlantic 10 tournament final, they equaled that by halftime and finished with 10.
— Bogavac has struggled on drives much of the season (although he scored on one drive), but found success Thursday with mid-range jumpers when his 3-point shot didn’t fall.
— Carolina’s 11th NCAA tournament overtime game tied Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Syracuse for the most, with the Tar Heels moving to 8–3 in those games.
— UNC is 2–1 in the BSW Arena after winning twice in 2017, beating Texas Southern and Arkansas, on its way to the 2017 national championship.
— Carolina is 3–4 as a No. 6 seed.
— VCU snapped a five-game NCAA tournament losing streak, moving its record to 14–16.
VCU 82, No. 21 UNC 78, OT
South Regional
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday’s game
No. 16 Prairie View A&M 76, No. 16 Lehigh 55
FIRST ROUND
Thursday’s games
Oklahoma City
No. 4 Nebraska 76, No. 13 Troy 47
No. 5 Vanderbilt 78, No. 12 McNeese State 68
Greenville, S.C.
No. 11 VCU 86, No. 6 North Carolina 78, OT
No. 3 Illinois 105, No. 14 Penn 70
Oklahoma City
No. 10 Texas A&M 73, No. 7 St. Mary’s 50
No. 2 Houston 78, No. 15 Idaho 47
Friday’s games
Tampa, Fla.
No. 9 Iowa 67, No. 8 Clemson 61
No. 1 Florida 114, Prairie View A&M 55
SECOND ROUND
Saturday games
Oklahoma City
Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 72
Greenville, S.C.
Illinois 76, VCU 55
Oklahoma City
Houston 88, Texas A&M 57
Sunday game
Tampa, Fla.
Iowa 73, Florida 72
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Houston
Thursday, March 26
Iowa (23–12) vs. Nebraska (28–6)
Illinois (26–8) vs. Houston (30–6)
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston
Saturday, March 28
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 11 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
