UNC’s latest NCAA faceplant shows a brand that barely knows itself

North Carolina, one of the most recognizable brands in college basketball, barely recognizes itself. The Tar Heels blew a 19-point second-half lead and lost to VCU 82-78 in overtime — the largest comeback in a first-round NCAA Tournament game and the second-biggest rally in tournament history, behind only No. 7 seed Nevada’s 22-point comeback against No.

2 seed Cincinnati in 2018. North Carolina led 70-56 with just over seven minutes remaining and had clear control of the game. The Tar Heels were killing VCU in transition, were aggressive getting to the rim and had an 18-1 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first 29 minutes.

VCU went on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to reduce UNC’s lead to just two points and eventually tied the game at 75-75 on a driving layup from Hill with 15 seconds left in regulation, as he blew past Derek Dixon with ease for the bucket. That gave the Rams all the momentum going into overtime before they eventually pulled out the win. In the final 7:45 of regulation, the Tar Heels went 0-for-9 from the field and 4-for-9 at the free-throw line.

Making matters worse, they turned the ball over seven times in the second half and overtime and did not record a single assist in the final 16 minutes of game time. When asked what happened in UNC’s historic collapse, head coach Hubert Davis answered with a question of his own: “What do you mean? ” It fit the night.