March was brutal for UNC — and its Triangle rivals too

The month of March might be the happiest time of the year in North Carolina , not only for Tar Heel fans but for Duke and NC State fans as well. Between the ACC Tournament and March Madness, it’s a fever dream, as many people at the office, the hospital and even in classrooms stop what they are doing to stream basketball wherever they are. While basketball fans across the Triangle were excited when March came around, by the end of the month all three fan bases were left in anguish.

UNC was the first team to feel that anguish. North Carolina squandered a 19-point second-half lead and fell to VCU in overtime, undone by a late scoring drought, missed free throws and a flurry of turnovers. The Tar Heels, playing without Caleb Wilson, led 70-56 with just over seven minutes left and appeared in full control, dominating VCU in transition, attacking the rim and posting an 18-1 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first 29 minutes.

Then it unraveled. VCU ripped off a 12-0 run and tied the game at 75-75 on a Terrance Hill driving layup with 11 seconds remaining, then rode that surge into overtime, where Hill buried a step-back 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to put the Rams ahead for good. On the next trip, Henri Veesaar missed two free throws that could have tied it and then misfired on a clean look off an inbound play, sending UNC home.

Over the final 7:45 of regulation, North Carolina went 0-for-9 from the field and 4-for-9 at the line, committed seven turnovers across the second half and overtime and did not record an assist in the last 16 minutes. The loss ultimately led UNC to fire Hubert Davis, who had a decent tenure at his alma mater. However, after two consecutive seasons of early exits and a decline following Davis’ run to the 2022 national title game, a change was necessary.