Villanova beats buzzer, North Carolina for title
Wildcats’ late heroics cap dramatic final
Houston— The lead had evaporated. Overtime loomed.
For Villanova, its season hung in the balance in Monday’s national championship game, thanks to North Carolina guard Marcus Paige’s three-point basket that tied the score with less than five seconds left. But that shot was about to be upstaged.
With the clock ticking down, Ryan Arcidiacono brought the ball upcourt and passed it to Kris Jenkins, who let it fly.
The ball went in, Jenkins’ hands went up and the rest of the team wrestled him down.
It capped a 77-74 victory for Villanova, which won its second national championship.
“I think every shot’s going in, and this one was no different,” Jenkins said.
Moments before, it had nearly vanished. Villanova led by three points with less than 10 seconds to play.
Paige lined up a three-pointer. He faked. The first defender went by. Arcidiacono closed as Paige jumped.
Paige pumped and twisted in the air, and got a shot off. The ball swirled in.
North Carolina fans tossed their seat cushions in the air like graduation caps. But the commencement never culminated.
Phil Booth had 20 points for Villanova and Jenkins scored 14. North Carolina was led by Paige with 21 points. Joel Berry II contributed 20.
This was a season, supposedly, with no dominant teams, in an era taken over by freshmen and dominated by the three-point shot. Yet it yielded two teams, neither with a likely one-and-done player, that breezed into the title game.
North Carolina (33-7) hadn’t played a tournament game decided by fewer than 14 points. Villanova (35-5) defeated Oklahoma by 44 points, the biggest blowout in Final Four history.
Monday’s game, in comparison, was one of the most dramatic title games in years. The lead changed nine times. The score was tied nine times. No team led by more than 10 points.
“You’re seeing a season where
there weren’t dominant players, there weren’t dominant teams,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Then you’re seeing a season where two teams just continued to get better and better and better and better.”
Berry predicted North Carolina could win without making a single three-pointer. He made four by himself. Berry was the hero of the first half, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the period. North Carolina led, 39-34, at the half.
But Villanova kept grinding North Carolina down; it was part of a 13-2 surge. Villanova had reclaimed the lead.
The Wildcats kept coming. At one point, they scored on six straight possessions. North Carolina, thanks in part to a 36-23 rebounding advantage, wasn’t far behind. But it was like rolling a stone uphill — Villanova shot 58.3%. A 7-0 run gave it a 10point lead with five minutes left.
With about four minutes left, the Tar Heels settled down. When Paige splashed in a three-pointer with 90 seconds left, the deficit was three points.
On the next possession, Arcidiacono threw the ball out of bounds. Brice Johnson, on the other end, banked in another two. The deficit was one.
After a pair of free throws, Paige missed a gimme layup, but fought for the rebound and wrestled in the second try. The lead was back to three — enough for Paige’s late heroics. But he left too much time. Villanova’s individual talent is underwhelming. There is a good chance it will produce zero first-round selections in the NBA draft, the first championship team to do so since 1987.