Terrence Hill Jr. wasn’t himself in the first half. He was better.
After a quiet opening 20 minutes, VCU’s sophomore sixth man scored 20 of his 34 total points after halftime and buried the dagger that will live in Rams lore for years to come. Hill made a stepback 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime, and 11th-seeded VCU erased a 19-point second-half deficit to stun sixth-seeded North Carolina 82-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was bananas.
Anatomy of a Comeback
The first half was not kind to VCU. Henri Veesaar had 13 points and five rebounds in the first half as the Tar Heels built a 15-point lead, exploiting VCU in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop. When Veesaar wasn’t converting at the rim, he was cashing open threes from the top of the key. Both teams shot 25 percent from 3-point range in the first half, but UNC led 39-28 at the break.
The second half was a different story entirely. VCU shot 62% from the field in the second half and connected on 7 of 10 from beyond the arc to force overtime. The Rams ground away at the lead methodically, and with 11 seconds left in regulation, Hill drove the lane to make it 75-75. After the Tar Heels called a timeout, Veesaar lost the ball out of bounds in the frontcourt with 2.4 seconds left, giving VCU a chance to win. Trimble stole the inbounds pass and had a chance to flip the script, but missed a running 3-point try at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, neither team could pull away. Trimble made 1 of 2 free throws with 35 seconds left to put the Tar Heels up 78-77. But Hill made his crucial 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key to give VCU an 80-78 lead. Veesaar was fouled with 4.2 seconds left, but missed the first of two free throws and was forced to try to throw the ball off the rim with the second shot — and missed. Nyk Lewis hit two free throws to seal it, and the Rams celebrated a win 10 years in the making.
The Numbers
Hill finished with 34 points on 7-of-10 shooting from three. Lewis added 16 points and seven rebounds. On the other side, Veesaar had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels. Seth Trimble finished with 15 points for UNC, just ahead of Jarin Stevenson and Derek Dixon with 11 each. The Tar Heels’ bench contributed just seven points.
Historic Context
This wasn’t just a good win. VCU completed the sixth-largest comeback in NCAA tournament history and the largest ever in the first round.
The win gives VCU (28-7) its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2016. The Rams have been to the dance plenty of times in the last decade, but had been unable to advance past the first round in their recent bids. Thursday night changed that.
For North Carolina, it was a brutal ending to an already difficult stretch. The Tar Heels went 0-3 after star freshman Caleb Wilson was ruled out for the season with an injury. UNC missed eight free throws, including three in the final minute, and those misses proved fatal.
What’s Next
The reward for slaying a blue blood? Another one.
Illinois routed Penn 105-70 on Thursday and advances to Saturday’s second round against VCU. The Fighting Illini are no easy draw — David Mirkovic turned in a 29-point, 17-rebound performance against Penn, and Illinois nearly doubled up the Quakers on the boards, 48-25. Brad Underwood’s team is big, deep, and locked in.
Worth noting: Illinois beat VCU 62-46 in the only previous meeting between the two programs, back in 2016. The Rams will be looking to even that score Saturday night in Greenville.
But this is a VCU squad that just pulled off the largest first-round comeback in tournament history. Phil Martelli Jr.’s offense showed up when it mattered most, Terrence Hill Jr. looked like a player on the brink of something much bigger, and the whole Rams roster now carries the weight — and the confidence — of knowing they can come back from anything.
