NCAA Tournament First Round
Score: #11 VCU 82, #6 UNC 78
Location: Greenville, S.C. (BSW Arena)
Records: VCU 28-7, UNC 24-9
 
The short story: Sophomore guard Terrence Hill Jr. hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining as VCU completed a 19-point second half comeback win over UNC. It marked the largest first round comeback in NCAA Tournament history.
 
OPENING TIP

• Hill scored a career-high 34 points, shooting 7-of-10 from 3-point range and 13-of-23 from the floor
• Freshman guard Nyk Lewis scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting
• Junior forward Lazar Djokovic had 15 points, going 5-of-11 from the floor, grabbing five rebounds and adding two blocks
• The Rams outscored UNC's bench 42-7 overall
• Henri Veesaar led UNC with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 3-of-6 from the field

THE DIFFERENCE

• VCU trailed UNC 56-37 with 14:58 remaining in the first half and 70-56 with just 7:11 left in regulation. A Hill 3-pointer sparked an 14-2 run to get the Rams within 72-70 with just 3:05 left in regulation
• Hill hit a layup with 11 seconds left to tie the game at 75-75 and force overtime
• The Rams struck first in overtime with a Lewis layup to give the Rams a 77-75 lead. The Tar Heels the took a 78-77 lead with 35 seconds left on a Seth Trimble free throw.
• Hill hit a 3-pointer to put the Rams up 80-78 with 15 seconds left and UNC missed two free throws on the ensuing possession. Lewis sunk two free throws to seal the win.
• VCU shot 45.5 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from 3-point range (11-of-26). UNC shot 41.4 percent from the field and just 27.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-29(

NOTABLE

• VCU won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2016
• This marks the 14^th win in VCU's NCAA Tournament history
• Hill's 34-points marks the most points scored by a Ram in an NCAA Tournament game

NEXT UP
VCU will face No. 3 seed Illinois on Saturday, March 22. The game will tip at 7:50 p.m. on CBS.