VILLANOVA WINS TITLE IN THRILLER
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: VILLANOVA 77, NORTH CAROLINA 74 Jenkins’ 3 at buzzer gives Wildcats first title since ’ 85
HOUSTON — One good shot deserved another.
Villanova’s Kris Jenkins wasn’t about to be outdone.
Jenkins overcame the shock of watching North Carolina’s Marcus Paige make a double- clutch threepointer to tie the score by spotting up behind the right side of the arc and sinking a three- pointer of his own at the buzzer to lift the Wildcats to a 77- 74 victory and the national championship Monday.
Second- seeded Villanova ( 35- 5) had a six- point lead with 1: 52 left but watched it slowly trickle away. Then it was gone when Paige jumped, double- clutched and pumped in a three- pointer to tie the score at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Wildcats’ Ryan Arcidiacono took the inbound pass from Jenkins, worked the ball upcourt and got it back to him. Jenkins took two quick stutter steps and swished the game- winner from about two steps behind the three- point arc.
‘‘ Kris told him he was going to be open, [ and] Arch made the perfect pass,’’ Villanova coach Jay Wright said. ‘‘ Kris lives for that moment.’’
Jenkins’ range is from anywhere on the court, as he showed earlier in the tournament by nonchalantly making a shot from the edge of the midcourt logo. When this one went up, he never had a doubt.
‘‘ I think every shot’s going in, and this one was no different,’’ Jenkins said.
He finished with 14 points, the last three as memorable as any that have been scored in the history of the NCAA tournament.
After being thrown to the floor by his teammates, he got up, leaped over press row, hugged his family in the stands and shouted: ‘‘ They said we couldn’t. They said we couldn’t. They said we couldn’t.’’ Oh, yes, they could. The victory enabled Villanova to add to the title it won in 1985, when Rollie Massimino — who was on hand for the game — coaxed a miracle out of his eighth- seeded underdogs against a star- studded Georgetown team.
It will be hard for the Wildcats to top this one, though.
Jenkins, who was adopted by the family of Tar Heels guard Nate Britt, now has a spot with Indiana’s Keith Smart, North Carolina State’s Lorenzo Charles and anyone else who ever made a late game- winner to win a big one.
Phil Booth led Villanova with 20 points, and Arcidiacono added 16. Paige scored 21 points and Joel Berry II 20 for top- seeded North Carolina ( 33- 7), which fell agonizing short of giving coach Roy Williams his third national title.
Not surprisingly, the tears flowed from a coach some speculate might have worked his last game on the sideline. The entire sports program at Chapel Hill is under NCAA scrutiny and is awaiting possible penalties for a long- running case involving academic fraud.
‘‘ I’m not very good because I can’t take away the hurt,’’ Williams said. ‘‘ I told them I loved them. I told them I wish I could have helped them more.’’
Even Bulls legend Michael Jordan felt the pain of Jenkins’ game- winner. In the stands with the thousands of other Tar Heels fans, Jordan nodded, smiled, looked at buddy Ahmad Rashad and said, ‘‘ Good shot, good shot.’’
High praise from ‘‘ The Great One.’’
And what a night for Villanova, a team full of scrappers and grinders who proved you don’t have to have a roster full of NBA- bound oneand- doners to win a title.
‘‘ Every kid dreams about [ making] that shot,’’ Arcidiacono said. ‘‘ I wanted that shot, but I just had confidence in my teammates and Kris was able to knock down that shot.’’