At one point in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament matchup against No. 11 seed VCU, the sixth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels appeared to be destined for a second-round matchup against No. 3 Illinois.
Holding a massive 58-40 lead with 13:23 left in the game, UNC was firmly in control.
That lead was cut to nine points with a little under five minutes remaining, and VCU closed the gap to two points with 3:56 left. The Rams ultimately forced overtime and outscored the Tar Heels 7-3 in the extra period to stamp an 82-78 upset win and send Hubert Davis and company home disappointed following a near-20-point collapse.
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Despite the best efforts of junior center Henri Veesar (26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal) and senior guard Seth Trimble (15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals), UNC failed to make it past the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth straight year, suffering its second straight NCAA Tournament first-round exit.
The loss was a heartbreaking one for Tar Heels fans. The historic meltdown is also a stain on Davis’ coaching resume, and it certainly wasn’t the way Trimble wanted to go out in his final college game.
Following the loss, the NCAA posted a farewell message to Trimble, whose four-year UNC run came to an end.
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“A Carolina legend 🫡. Thank you, Seth Trimble 👏 #MarchMadness,” the NCAA March Madness X account posted.
Trimble played in 126 games across four seasons in Chapel Hill, establishing himself as a legitimate starting force over the last year seasons.
During his junior and senior years, Trimble averaged 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
He averaged 14 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 28.6% from 3 en route to an All-ACC honorable mention this season.
