VCU Rams vs North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction, 3/19/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: VCU Rams vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026

Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: VCU (+3)

Bon Secours Wellness Arena is the location where the North Carolina Tar Heels (24-8) will attempt to beat the VCU Rams (27-7) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. VCU opens this contest as 3-point dogs. The over/under is set at 152.

The VCU Rams faced off with Dayton and walked away with a win by a score of 70-62 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Rams finished with 18 while Dayton accumulated 18 fouls. They converted 7 of their 21 tries from long range. Dayton shot 52.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of 17 attempts. Additionally, Dayton collected 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Dayton earned 16 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. When discussing defense, VCU allowed 43.4% from the field on 23 out of 53 shooting. They also dished out 12 assists for this contest in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and having 9 steals. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they earned 33 with 6 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Rams made 13 of 19 attempts for a rate of 68.4%. VCU walked away from the contest with a 40.4% field goal percentage (23 of 57) and made 11 of their 24 shots from 3-point land.

Nyk Lewis is one guy who was a major factor in the game. He accounted for 17 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He played 33 mins and pulled down 11 boards. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

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VCU will enter this game with a record of 27-7 on the year. They are giving up possession 10.5 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, VCU is pulling down 36.7 rebounds per game and has tallied 479 assists this season, which has them ranked 127th in college in terms of passing. The Rams are hitting 36.7% on three-point attempts (317 of 864) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 81.6 pts per contest (58th in the nation) while connecting on 46.0% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Rams are forcing 11.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.1 personal fouls. They are 192nd in college in giving up assists with 435 conceded for the year. The Rams are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.1% (864 of 2,004) and they surrender 34.3 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 33.1% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 113th in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (71.5).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the North Carolina Tar Heels walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-79 when they faced Clemson. The Tar Heels corralled 26 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 34 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 3 steals for the matchup. Clemson had 16 fouls in this game which took the Tar Heels to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw tries for a clip of 58.8%. In terms of shots from 3-point land, North Carolina made 11 of 30 attempts (36.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Tar Heels ended up going 29 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.5%. The Tar Heels permitted Clemson to knock down 27 out of their 55 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 49.1% for the matchup. They finished 47.4% from beyond the arc by connecting on 9 of 19 and finished the game at 17 out of 23 from the free throw line (73.9%). With respect to cleaning the glass, North Carolina permitted Clemson to grab 28 in total (3 on the offensive side).

Henri Veesaar was important for the Tar Heels in this game. He had 28 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for this contest. He buried 10 out of 16 in this matchup for a rate of 62.5%, and had 17 rebounds.

North Carolina has a mark of 24-8 so far this year. The Tar Heels commit 14.6 fouls every game and they hit 68.4% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 16.0 times per game (66th in the country) and they are turning it over 9.7 times per game. North Carolina has tallied 2,553 points on the year (79.8 per game) and they collect 38.0 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Tar Heels are shooting 47.3% from the field, which is 61st in the country.

The Tar Heels defensively are ranked 109th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 71.3. They are able to force 9.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 41.8% from the floor (55th in D-1). The North Carolina defense gives up 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (257 of 746) and opponents are knocking down 70.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 12.7 assists and 34.2 total boards per game, which ranks them 120th and 170th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take VCU (+3)

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