The North Carolina Tar Heels will open their 2026 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Greenville against No. 11 VCU. UNC earned the No. 6 seed in the South Region and set up a first-round matchup with the Rams.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and for North Carolina, they’re looking to exit the first round after losing to Mississippi State last season. The Tar Heels enter this game on a two-game losing streak after losing to Duke in the regular season finale and then Clemson in the ACC Tournament.
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Their rival, VCU, won the Atlantic 10 tournament to earn an automatic bid. They are a deep team with up to 10 players, and their top scorer is off the bench. They also have one of the best three-point shooting percentages in the country. So it will be interesting to see how UNC defends this.
Be sure to follow the entire game with our live blog, which includes updates, highlights, stats and more.
what you need to know
What? VCU Rams (27-7, 15-3 A10) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (24-78 12-6 ACC)
when? Thursday, March 19, 6:50 p.m. ET
Where? Bon Secours Health Arena in Greville, South Carolina
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television? TNT. (Ian Eagle, Bill Rafferty, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson)
radio? SiriusXM (channel 193)
Wire? University of North Carolina-2 1/2
Last meeting? not applicable
Historic series: first meeting
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Live Blog, NCAA Tournament Game Score Updates