VCU Caps Historic Comeback vs UNC, Advances to Round of 32
The No. 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth Rams erased a 19-point second-half deficit to upset the No. 6-seed North Carolina Tar Heels 82-78 in overtime. In the history of the men’s NCAA Tournament, VCU’s rally marks the sixth-largest comeback. However, Thursday’s win by the Rams marked the largest comeback ever in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament.
It was also the first NCAA Tournament win for VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr., the son of legendary St. Joesph’s head coach Phil Marttelli. In fact, it was the Rams’ first NCAA Tournament win since 2016.
With the game being played in Greenville, South Carolina – not far from each campus – this wound up being one of the better atmospheres on Day 1 of the big dance. It was even more exciting all over the country, as emotions were going back and forth for bettors on each side. The thrill of victory for VCU backers, and the worst day ever for those on UNC.
In this article, we’ll recap the day that was, as well as take a look at just how much money changed hands in this rawkus affair.
Terrence Hill Jr. leads VCU comeback
VCU’s lowest point of the game came five minutes into the second half, as they trailed 56-37. Up to that point, UNC was dominating with Henri Veesaar leading the way. His presence was huge in this game, especially with Caleb Wilson out for the season.
Things started to unravel for the Tar Heels as the Rams’ Terrence Hill Jr. came alive in the second half and OT, going for a career-high 34 points when his team needed him the most. Hill’s big night came on the strength of shooting 7-for-10 from behind the arc, and he would go 13-for-23 from the field. Hill had some huge buckets down the stretch to pull VCU even and eventually lead them to OT.
“I know my team needs me down the stretch,” Hill said. “Going into the second half, I wanted to be as aggressive as possible. When the plays were there for me to make them, I was going to make them. And if my teammates were open, I was going to hit them.”
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VCU-UNC go to OT
It wasn’t the most thrilling overtime period as the teams combined for only 10 points in the extra five minutes. But that didn’t stop Hill from being the star of the show, as his contested 3-pointer with 15 seconds left would ultimately give VCU the lead for good.
Trailing 80-78, Veesaar would head to the free-throw line after getting hacked in the act. Incredibly, he put up a strong finish that almost went in as he was getting fouled, but the shot barely rimmed out. Veesaar wound up missing the first free throw and would have to intentionally miss the second. Unfortunately, that intentional miss didn’t even find the rim (causing a violation) and VCU got the ball out of bounds.
Nyk Lewis would head to the other free-throw line and knock down two to ice it for the Rams by the final score of 72-68.
“This game was the perfect microcosm of who this group has been,” Martelli Jr. said. “They’ve been resilient as much as any group I’ve ever been around. We’ve done it all year.”
Pregame odds for VCU vs UNC
Before tip-off, UNC was a 2.5-point favorite with -150 odds to win outright (VCU: +125) with the total closing at 151.5 points. Well, all of that came down to the wire, but it took a while to get there.
The 151.5-point total needed the extra five-minute session to go over the mark. At halftime, UNC held a 39-28 lead, and it looked like they would pull away there at the start of the second half. Of course, VCU’s late surge helped, as they scored a whopping 47 points in the second half, adding another seven in OT.
When VCU was down by 19, the consensus line at most sportsbooks had +2500 odds for them to win outright – meaning a $10 wager would have won you $250. If the +2500 odds didn’t clarify how dire the situation was, the Rams were even 19.5-point underdogs on the live odds at that point. VCU pre-tip backers had to sweat it out late, when it looked like they were dead in the water for most of the night, only to have their spread and moneyline prayers were both answered.
