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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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No. 6 seed North Carolina looked in complete control against No. 11 VCU in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, up 19 points in the second half, cruising, coasting, already thinking about the Round of 32.
Then everything unraveled. The Tar Heels went ice-cold late, scored just three points in overtime, and walked off stunned in an 82–78 loss that instantly entered the conversation as one of the worst tournament collapses in program history.
For a blue-blood program, back-to-back first-round exits hit like a siren, and calls for head coach Hubert Davis to be on the hot seat followed immediately.
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Now, ESPN insider Pete Thamel has provided the latest on the situation.
According to Thamel, Davis’ future in Chapel Hill is “squarely in flux,” with discussions expected in the coming days and a decision likely by early next week.
"The options here are simple," Thamel said. "Keep Davis with significant changes to the staff and program, or orchestrate some type of wholesale change to the coaching staff and bring in a whole new regime. The tenor at North Carolina right now is that there will be a new coaching staff there next season."
"The entire basketball world, meanwhile, is transfixed on Chapel Hill," he added. "This is arguably the best job in the entire sport. If Davis does move on from Carolina, this job would echo through every corner of this NCAA tournament and really, throughout the entire sport."
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Davis burst onto the scene by leading UNC to the national championship game in 2022, a dream debut that brought him credibility and goodwill. But since then, the program has fallen off.
The Tar Heels missed the tournament in 2023, failed to break through in 2024, and have now suffered consecutive first-round exits.
Even within the loss to VCU, the cracks were glaring, and for a program as historic as UNC, it could be enough to cost Davis his job.
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North Carolina is one of the crown jewels of college basketball. From Dean Smith to Roy Williams, it has become one of the biggest brands in the sport and sky-high expectations have come along with that.
That's why, to Thamel's point, if UNC decides to move on, the ripple effect across the sport will be massive.
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