UNC takes on hot VCU Team in Tourney

By Sharon Thorsland

North Carolina opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, heading to Greenville, SC for a first-round match-up with Virginia Commonwealth University. The 6th-seeded Tar Heels have lost two straight after an ugly loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament, while the 11th-seeded Rams have won 16 of their last 17 games. They finished 27-7 overall and won the Atlantic 10 tournament to earn the automatic bid. But their only win over a tournament team came before Thanksgiving when they beat South Florida on a neutral floor. Tip-off is set for 6:50 on WBT.

The Rams are a deep team, with 10 players in the rotation and a bench that scores 34 points per game, that’s 7th in the nation. Their leading scorer is point guard Terrence Hill Jr., and he doesn’t even start. Hill is putting up 14.4 points per game, with big man Lazar Djokovic adding 13.5 and over five rebounds a contest. VCU’s three-point shooting is very good, they shoot over 36% from behind the arc and have six players that shoot over 35% from three. That’s an area that has plagued the Tar Heels this season, and they have also been susceptible to explosive guards all year, so the Heels are going to have to clamp down defensively on the perimeter.

The Rams aren’t very big but they play fast and are a physical team who can create turnovers. Another thing to keep an eye on is free throw shooting. The Rams are 18th in the country averaging over 25 per game, but the Tar Heels don’t foul – they led the ACC and were 16th in the nation with just 14.6 per game. UNC will need to limit VCU’s trips to the foul line. And with Caleb Wilson out with a broken thumb, the Tar Heels need a big game from Henri Veesaar, who had 28 points and 17 rebounds against Clemson. He’ll also need to stay out of foul trouble to keep the Rams from pulling the upset.

The Heels could and should win this game, but if depends on which team shows up. If they play like they did against Clemson in the ACC Tournament, it will be a short stay in Greenville. But if they play like the team that went 5-1 during a stretch without Wilson, UNC can advance to a potential rematch with Illinois in the second round. Go Tar Heels!