In Heels defense, refs did not hand them title

Officiating had nothing to do with the final score of the NCAA men’s championship game.

North Carolina beat Gonzaga 71-65 because of one simple thing, the same thing it did to win most of its games this season.

Yes, the referees — with Mike Eades standing on top of the play — missed Kennedy Meeks’ hand touching out of bounds on a tie up that gave North Carolina the ball with under a minute left in a onepoint game, but that was just one of too many missed calls.

What Michael Stephens, Verne Harris and Eades did was rob the viewing public of what should have been a great game. Instead of entertaining, it was like watching a moped in Los Angeles rushhour

traffic. Especially the second half, when they called 27 of the 44 fouls.

They were consistently bad, but each team was called for 22 fouls and each team shot 26 free throws.

The officials didn’t allow either team to get in a rhythm, and the two great front courts might as well have been the back doors.

This is what should have happened after the game for those three men and their alternate: When they entered their locker room, black-andwhite confetti should have fallen on them, but instead of hearing “One Shining Moment” they should have heard “Anticipation.”

That is the problem with college officials, they anticipate fouls that never happen, especially Monday night with two greatly athletic teams.

While those officials were doing their own version of 40 minutes of hell, two No. 1 seeds did everything they could to play a national championship game.

Last note on college officials: The guys who call the bigger conferences, like the three Monday night, make around $3,000 per game, including expenses. For that kind of money, they should be better than what the world got.

Again, Mike, Mike and Verne had little to do with the final outcome, but they did throw up a construction site in the middle of a busy interstate. But don’t expect Mark Few or Roy Williams to say a word because they aren’t allowed to without repercussions.

The outcome was mostly settled on the court.

The score was tied 11 times and the lead changed 12, with the final change coming with 1:40 to play when Justin Jackson — who hit 44.3 percent of his shots this season as the Tar Heels’ leading scorer but was just 6 of 19 (31.6 percent) Monday — converted a threepoint play for a 66-65 edge.

That was when Williams willed his team to do what they do best.

It was what the Tar Heels had to do because the team that made 36 percent of its three-pointers and 70 percent of its free throws this season was 4-27 behind the arc Monday for a breezy 14.8 percent and 15 of 26 from the freethrow line, 57.7 percent. Plus the team that led the nation in rebounding was outrebounded 49-46.

But the Tar Heels stepped up that suffocating defense.

It was reminiscent of the days when Nolan Richardson would turn up the heat on opponents and suddenly they were in a microwave oven, melting away.

With the game on the line against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and Kentucky, Williams dialed up the defense. He did it again Monday, and the Tar Heels responded, especially the senior Meeks

In the last 54 seconds, he got an offensive board that led to a score by Isaiah Hicks and a 68-65 lead. With 17 seconds left, he got a block that led to a dunk by Jackson and a 70-65 lead.

Meeks then put the game away with a steal with nine seconds to play, and the Tar Heels had their sixth national championship and the Bulldogs left the court with looks on their faces that said, “What just happened?”

Only Mike, Mike and Verne know for sure.