Is it time to worry for North Carolina and Hubert Davis? On Sunday, the Tar Heels learned they're going to be the six seed in the South Region, with a first-round matchup with VCU coming on Thursday. Should be a breeze, right?
UNC learns its March Madness fate and lands in a loaded NCAA Tournament region
Not so fast. Immediately, eyes were opened when the betting odds were released and North Carolina is only favored by 2.5 points. This team being on upset watch against an Atlantic 10 squad seemed absurd, but not everyone is seeing things that way.
Not long after the matchup was revealed, CBS analyst Seth Davis didn't hold back with his thoughts, saying he thinks that the Tar Heels are going to go down in a shocker. If that does happen, it'd no question be the worst-case scenario for Davis and his staff:
“I do like VCU to knock off North Carolina with the (Caleb Wilson) injury.”
— Travon Miles (@TrayABC11) March 15, 2026
CBS’ Seth Davis says UNC is going down in the first round.
Seth Davis stuns us all by picking North Carolina to lose to VCU in the first round
If you think members of the North Carolina fanbase are losing patience with Davis now, imagine if a first-round loss to VCU arrives. Give credit to VCU, however, as this team has won 16 of its last 17 contests, including the conference title game win over the weekend.
With that victory, VCU snuck into the tourney - NCAA Committee Chair Keith Gill said that had VCU not won its conference title, it wouldn't be dancing. Despite that, the Rams are playing with a ton of confidence, while the Heels have lost back-to-back games to Duke and Clemson, respectively.
Not having Caleb Wilson in the tourney due to his broken thumb is brutal for Carolina. The freshman sensation was on the verge of making his highly-anticipated return to the hardwood, but a freak injury in practice ended his season in devastating fashion.
It's now on Henri Veesaar, Seth Trimble and the rest of the locker room to take their game to a new level and silence the haters. A potential second-round matchup with Illinois would be exciting, but first UNC must get by VCU. That's going to be much more difficult than some of us thought it would be, as plenty of people, including Davis, think the dance is going to end after only one game.