VCU Rams vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/19/2026

Game Time: 6:50 pm ET, Thursday, March 19, 2026

Venue:  Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  VCU +2.5, UNC -2.5; Over/Under:  154.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  VCU +2.5, UNC -2.5; Over/Under:  154.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  VCU +2.5, UNC -2.5; Over/Under:  154.5 points

VCU Rams:  27-7 (15-3) (2nd place, Atlantic 10)

North Carolina Tar Heels:  24-8 (12-6) (4th place, ACC)

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VCU Rams:  5-0  last 5

North Carolina Tar Heels:  3-2  last 5

VCU is entering this game with a 27-7 record overall, a 15-3 record in conference games, and they are 5-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Dayton Flyers in their last game. Nyk Lewis led the team in points in that game with 17 while Terrence Hill Jr. was next on the team with 14. Barry Evans, Brandon Jennings, Terrence Hill Jr., and Michael Belle each led the team in assists with 2 in that game while Nyk Lewis led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 40.4% from the field, 45.8% from 3-point range, and 68.4% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 81.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.8 PPG against them. VCU has an ATS record of 17-17 this season and their O/U record is 15-19.

North Carolina is entering this game with a 24-8 record overall, a 12-6 conference record, and they are 2-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Clemson Tigers in their last game. Henri Veesaar led the team in points in that game with 28 while Derek Dixon was next on the team with 16. Seth Trimble led the team in assists with 8 in that game while Henri Veesaar led the team in rebounds with 17. They were 47.5% from the field, 36.7% from 3-point range, and 58.8% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 79.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.3 PPG against them. North Carolina has an ATS record of 19-13 this season and their O/U record is 13-19.

The current betting odds have North Carolina listed as a 2.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. North Carolina has looked good in their games this season with their 24-8 record overall and their 12-6 conference record which had them in the top half of the ACC. They haven't been a great team in neutral site games though with their 2-2 record in those. Meanwhile, VCU has looked really good in their games this season with their 27-7 record overall and their 15-3 conference record which had them right near the top of the A10. They have looked good in neutral site games too with their 5-2 record in those. VCU has been rolling lately with 6 wins in a row now and they went on to win their conference tournament to earn this bid. They weren't the best team in the A10 all season though and even though they won the A10 Tournament, they never had to run into Saint Louis. VCU has been tested this season and they have been a solid team in those tests, but this is still a big step up in competition for them. UNC had a solid year in the ACC and even though they were kicked out of the ACC Tournament by Clemson, it was a really tight game. They did lose their best player to injury weeks ago, but they have still looked good without him as the team has figured things out without him. The way VCU has been playing lately too, this isn't a team that UNC is going to overlook and UNC is the team with the tournament pedigree so they aren't going to go down in the 1st round. The best way to place a bet here is on North Carolina to cover the spread in this game. 

VCU North Carolina Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 19, 2026 (6:50 pm ET start time) is UNC 77 VCU 69.

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VCU Rams: 4-0 ATS against ACC opponents. 21-13 ATS versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game. 10-3 ATS after 3 or more consecutive unders. 14-7 UNDER as an underdog. 30-19 UNDER off a win against a conference rival.

North Carolina Tar Heels: 12-20 ATS at home vs. good free throw shooting teams - making 72% of their attempts or more. 11-18 ATS at home when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 80%). 14-7 UNDER when the line is +3 to -3. 29-19 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 80%).

VCU Rams:  O. Okafor (F) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Fermin (F) Out - Personal.

North Carolina Tar Heels:  C. Wilson (F) Out - Thumb. J. Brown (C) Out - Foot. I. Matlekovic (C) Questionable - Hand.

“I know what this league is about. I lived through it. [My family] probably couldn’t even count the number of A-10 Tournaments we went to. I go back to the days of Penn State, Rutgers, and West Virginia. I can visualize those moments in The Palestra where each of the four corners had a team, and everyone was going crazy.” - Phil Martelli Jr on his team winning the A10 Tournament.

"Yeah, just the inability to respond to physicality. I felt like it was the same thing Saturday of last week, and for most of the game tonight. Clemson has always been physical defensively, and one of the things I always say is you never let a defense dictate and decide how efficient you are on the offensive end. And I felt like their physicality took us out of our offense, took us off of our cuts, our screens, our moves, and didn't really respond to that until the latter part of the second half.” - Hubert Davis after his team’s loss against Clemson in the ACC Tournament.

L. Djokovic 

B. Evans 

B. Jennings 

N. Lewis 

J. Tracey

L. Bogavac 

K. Evans 

J. Stevenson 

H. Veesaar 

C. Wilson

PPG: Terrence Hill Jr. (14.4)

APG: Terrence Hill Jr. (2.8)

Reb/G: Lazar Djokovic (5.4)

PPG: Caleb Wilson (19.8)

APG: Seth Trimble (2.8)

Reb/G: Caleb Wilson (9.4)

Coaches:

VCU Rams: Phil Martelli Jr. (1st season)

North Carolina Tar Heels: Hubert Davis (5th season)