The month of March might be the happiest time of the year in North Carolina, not only for Tar Heel fans but for Duke and NC State fans as well.
Between the ACC Tournament and March Madness, it’s a fever dream, as many people at the office, the hospital and even in classrooms stop what they are doing to stream basketball wherever they are. While basketball fans across the Triangle were excited when March came around, by the end of the month all three fan bases were left in anguish.
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UNC was the first team to feel that anguish.
North Carolina squandered a 19-point second-half lead and fell to VCU in overtime, undone by a late scoring drought, missed free throws and a flurry of turnovers. The Tar Heels, playing without Caleb Wilson, led 70-56 with just over seven minutes left and appeared in full control, dominating VCU in transition, attacking the rim and posting an 18-1 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first 29 minutes.
Then it unraveled.
VCU ripped off a 12-0 run and tied the game at 75-75 on a Terrance Hill driving layup with 11 seconds remaining, then rode that surge into overtime, where Hill buried a step-back 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to put the Rams ahead for good. On the next trip, Henri Veesaar missed two free throws that could have tied it and then misfired on a clean look off an inbound play, sending UNC home.
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Over the final 7:45 of regulation, North Carolina went 0-for-9 from the field and 4-for-9 at the line, committed seven turnovers across the second half and overtime and did not record an assist in the last 16 minutes. The loss ultimately led UNC to fire Hubert Davis, who had a decent tenure at his alma mater. However, after two consecutive seasons of early exits and a decline following Davis’ run to the 2022 national title game, a change was necessary.
Davis’ firing was a seismic move, as the Tar Heels will now look for a coach with no prior affiliation to UNC for the first time since 1952, when the school hired Frank McGuire — Dean Smith’s predecessor — who led UNC to its first national title in 1957. However, the Tar Heels might have gotten off a bit easier as time went on.
Stabbed in the Back
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 2: Head coach Will Wade of the NC State Wolfpack directs his team in the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Lenovo Center on March 2, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
Now let’s get to NC State. The Wolfpack lost to Texas 68-66 on a last-second shot in the First Four and failed to make the field of 64. However, that’s not what made March miserable for NC State fans.
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After promising before the season that there would be a “red reckoning” and stating that “this will be the worst team we have at NC State, right here” following the loss to Texas, head coach Will Wade abruptly left for LSU, the school that originally fired him for breaking NCAA rules. Even worse for the Wolfpack, he resigned via email to athletic director Boo Corrigan.
Ouch.
Duke capped it off with an epic collapse
Just like UNC, Duke was dominating UConn for most of the game and built a 19-point lead with five minutes left in the first half. However, after maintaining a manageable lead for most of the second half, Duke watched UConn cut the margin to just two points.
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Although the Blue Devils still led and kept hitting timely shots, the Huskies continued to claw back. But it wasn’t enough. With 10 seconds left on the clock and Duke leading 72-70, all the Blue Devils had to do was hold onto the ball and force UConn to foul.
Instead, UConn’s full-court press got the better of them. Cayden Boozer committed a costly turnover when Braylon Mullins tipped and stole his pass, then kicked it ahead to Alex Karaban, who quickly passed it back to Mullins. Mullins pulled up from 35 feet near the midcourt logo and swished the game-winning 3-pointer, sending the Huskies to the Final Four.
This is the second year in a row that Duke’s season ended in heartbreak. The Blue Devils lost in the Final Four to Houston after leading by 14 in the second half and by six with 1:14 to play.
In a state that lives and breathes college basketball, this March was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, it became a shared nightmare for the Triangle. UNC collapsed and fired its coach, NC State was left stunned and abandoned, and Duke watched another deep run slip away in the final seconds. Three blue-blood programs, three different paths, one familiar feeling: heartbreak.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Tar Heels, Duke and NC State suffer March heartbreak
