North Carolina blows 19-point 2nd-half lead, falls to VCU in OT in NCAA first-round matchup
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
With just over five minutes gone by in the second half, North Carolina looked as if it might be well on its way to a first-round victory in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
VCU had other plans.
The Tar Heels, a 6 seed in the South Region, led by 19 at one point, then watched as the 11th-seeded Rams stormed back to come away with an 82-78 overtime win at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. North Carolina’s season ends at 24-9. VCU improves to 28-7.
Seth Trimble’s basket made it an 56-37 lead for North Carolina with 14:58 remaining in regulation. It was up 67-52 with 9:42 to go. That’s when VCU made its move. With 3:05 left, it was a 72-70 UNC lead after an 18-5 Rams run. The Heels stretched it to a two-possession game with 1:59 remaining before VCU scored the next five points, capped by Terrence Hill’s tying layup with 11 seconds on the clock to make it 75-all and send it to overtime.
With 15 seconds to go in the extra session, Hill hit the biggest shot of the night, a step-back 3 to give VCU an 80-78 lead. The Rams added a pair of free throws to complete the upset.
For North Carolina, it’s another offseason full of questions as a program where the standard is championship or bust has fallen short once more. Carolina appeared in the national championship game in 2022, Hubert Davis’s first season since taking over for Roy Williams. It went to the Sweet 16 in 2024. It’s now suffered back-to-back first-round tournament exits. This one will especially sting since it had a 98.7% win probability after Trimble’s layup put them up by 19.
Meanwhile, it’s not the biggest win in VCU history by any stretch of the imagination. It went to a Final Four in 2011, after all. But it will certainly be one of the Rams’ most memorable as Phil Martelli Jr. has them in the second round in his first season at the helm.
VCU returns to the court on Saturday as it will now face the winner of the Illinois-Penn 3/14 matchup.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
