UNC vs. VCU: Preview, Prediction & Odds – 2024 Basketball

The North Carolina Tar Heels will open their NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Greenville, matched against No. 11 VCU in the first round.

UNC (24-8, 12-6 ACC) earned the No. 6 seed in the South Region. It’s a tough region for UNC especially without its best player, Caleb Wilson, who is out for the year. But this team is hoping it can go on a run and shock some people.

The Rams are the winners of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and would have been left out of the field if they weren’t. They are a good team with their leading scorer, Terrence Hill Jr., coming off the bench. In the first year under Phil Martelli Jr., the Rams have a deep rotation, going with 10 guys who can score and contribute throughout the game.

That’s one of their strengths. The 34 points per game from the bench is seventh in the country and they shoot the basketball well from the 3-point line.

As for UNC, it is looking to avoid a second straight first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. It lost to No. 6 Ole Miss a year ago after beating San Diego State in the First Four in Dayton. In 55 years of being in the tournament, North Carolina has lost in the first round six times. It has never lost in back-to-back years in that round.

This would be a historically bad stretch for UNC if it were to lose in the first round, marking the third such exit since 2021. It also missed the tournament in 2023.