Terrence Hill Jr. joins list of legends in VCU win vs UNC in March Madness
· Yahoo Sports
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Terrence Hill Jr. helped VCU basketball hand another blue-blood program a loss in an 82-78 win against UNC in the opening round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament.
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“One of my goals this year was not to be a first-round exit. I wanted to come in with that mindset and leave the VCU history on,” said Hill, who had 34 points, including seven 3-pointers and the go-ahead bucket in overtime against the Tar Heels.
“It don't matter who we play. UNC, it don't matter. Blue bloods, it don't matter. We got the same mindset every game.”
A sophomore guard and arguably the best sixth man in the nation, Hill had a scoring showing that ties for the third-most points against UNC in March Madness.
He joins a group that includes Michigan’s Glen Rice, UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Dayton’s Don May. Only Providence’s Bryce Cotton (36 points), Weber State’s Harold Arceneaux (36), Purdue’s Rick Mount (36) and Alabama’s Leon Douglas (35) have scored more points against the Tar Heels in an NCAA Tournament game.
Hill’s seven 3-pointers tie for the second-most 3s made against UNC in the Big Dance, joining a group that includes Iona’s Rickey McGill and Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer.
The Portland native drilled a step-back, contested 3-pointer just in front of the bracket in the March Madness logo with 15.1 seconds left to help the 11th-seeded Rams (28-7) rally from a 19-point deficit against the sixth-seeded Tar Heels (24-9).
Caleb Wilson, UNC’s injured freshman star and a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, praised Hill for what he was able to accomplish in a 23-point performance after halftime.
“He hit some tough shots, honestly,” Wilson said of Hill. “Tough mid-range shots, tough 3-pointers. Some stuff you really can’t control. You’re a tough shotmaker, you’re a tough shottaker.”
Hill took advantage of switches in the second half, attacking mismatches to unlock a new level of offense. That, for Trimble, was among the most frustrating things to see down the stretch.
“He took great advantage of his matchups,” Trimble said. “Every time he got a switch that he really liked, he took advantage and he went to work. He was incredible.”
UNC center Henri Veesaar, who had a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, shook his head in the Tar Heels’ locker room when asked about Hill.
“He killed us,” Veesaar said. “He was walking down (mid-range jumpers), he hit the big 3. He was just on fire. He kind of got what he wanted. … He’s a really good player.”
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Terrence Hill Jr. joins list of legends in VCU win vs UNC in March Madness
