North Carolina vs VCU College Basketball Prediction, Odds, Picks, Best Bets for NCAA Tournament First Round

The No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels (24-8) and the No. 11 VCU Rams (27-7) square off on Thursday for a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The opening-round matchup starts at 6:50 p.m. ET.

Before you place your bet on this matchup at FanDuel Sportsbook, here are the NCAA basketball odds and spreads you need to know.

North Carolina vs. VCU Game Info and Odds

• Game day: Thursday, March 19, 2026
• Game time: 6:50 p.m. ET
• TV channel: TNT
• Location: Greenville, South Carolina
• Arena: Bon Secours Wellness Arena

North Carolina vs. VCU Picks and Prediction

All college basketball win probability predictions and picks are according to numberFire.
Prediction: VCU win (51.3%)

Before you bet on Thursday's North Carolina-VCU spread (North Carolina -2.5) or over/under (150.5 points), take a look at the betting insights and trends below.

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North Carolina vs. VCU: ATS Betting Stats and Trends

• North Carolina has put together a 19-13-0 ATS record so far this year.
• VCU has put together an 18-16-0 ATS record so far this season.
• North Carolina covers the spread when it is a 2.5-point favorite or more 55% of the time. That's more often than VCU covers as an underdog of 2.5 or more (50%).
• When playing at home, the Tar Heels have a better record against the spread (12-6-0) compared to their ATS record in road games (5-5-0).
• The Rams have been better against the spread away (6-4-0) than at home (7-10-0) this season.

North Carolina vs. VCU: Moneyline Betting Stats

• North Carolina has been the moneyline favorite in 21 games this season and has come away with the win 18 times (85.7%) in those contests.
• This season, the Tar Heels have been victorious 16 times in 18 chances when named as a favorite of at least -152 or better on the moneyline.
• VCU has won 20% of the games this season it was the underdog on the moneyline (1-4).
• The Rams have played four times as a moneyline underdog with odds of +126 or longer, and fell in each game.
• Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that North Carolina has a 60.3% chance of pulling out a win.

North Carolina vs. VCU Head-to-Head Comparison

• North Carolina scored 80.7 points per game and gave up 74.7 last season, making them 29th in college basketball on offense and 261st on defense.
• On the boards, North Carolina was 105th in college basketball in rebounds (33.2 per game) last year. It was 182nd in rebounds conceded (31.2 per game).
• With 14.7 assists per game last year, North Carolina was 93rd in college basketball.
• North Carolina committed 10.5 turnovers per game last year and forced 10.2 per game, ranking 120th and 288th, respectively, in the country.
• VCU put up 76.9 points per game last year (94th-ranked in college basketball), but it really played well defensively, giving up only 62.9 points per game (eighth-best).
• VCU was top-25 last year in rebounding, ranking 25th-best in college basketball with 35.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, it ranked 65th with 29.4 rebounds allowed per contest.
• VCU dished out 15 assists per game, which ranked them 77th in the nation.
• Last season VCU averaged 10.9 turnovers per game (150th-ranked in college basketball) and forced 12.9 turnovers per contest (53rd-ranked).

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