GREENVILLE, S.C. — VCU rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to defeat North Carolina 82-78 in overtime on Thursday, completing the sixth-largest comeback in men’s NCAA Tournament history.
The Rams, who trailed 56-37 with 13:50 to play, stormed back behind an electric performance from sophomore guard Terrence Hill, Jr. Hill scored 34 points and made a go-ahead, step-back 3 in the final minute of overtime to lead the 11th-seeded Rams to the upset win.
Hill’s shot put VCU ahead 80-78. North Carolina had a chance to tie the game with 4.2 seconds left, but center Henri Veesaar missed the first of two free throws. He then tried to intentionally miss the second one, but the ball never contacted the rim, a violation.
That error was symbolic of the latter portion of the game, where the Tar Heels, playing without injured star Caleb Wilson, seemed to run out of gas against the faster, deeper Rams. Veesaar dominated the first two-thirds of the game and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but he and the rest of the Tar Heels gave up a 14-point lead in the final seven minutes. North Carolina played four of its five players the entire second half and overtime.
Hill led a furious Rams comeback by making seven 3s, but he also tormented the Tar Heels out of ball screens, especially going to his right, and either finishing at the rim or finding a teammate for a perimeter shot (he finished with five assists). The winning shot, however, came going to his left in crunch time.
The Rams (28-7) will play either No. 3 Illinois or No. 14 Penn on Saturday. The Tar Heels (24-9) lost in the first round for the second consecutive year.
