But that’s the NCAA tournament. They are third overall in points scored per game at 84.8, as well as being number one in field goal percentage at 58.2 percent. “I told them I loved them”.
Advertisement
Another reason I feel this game is the best of all time is the fact that everyone just thought the Heels would roll to the victory. You not only won your first national title since 1985, but became the first national champion to defeat four AP-ranked top 10 teams in the same tournament since that 1985 team.
As the tournament progressed, I kept waiting for Villanova to lose.
Booth played 25 minutes against North Carolina. “He said ‘make sure she comes, I want to take a picture with her'”.
Penn State Altoona men’s basketball head coach Doug West was riding a roller coaster Monday night, but he wasn’t at an amusement park.
Game-winning, last-second shots are nearly as expected in the NCAA Tournament as the opening-round upset _ from U.S. Reed in 1981 to Bryce Drew in 1998 and this year’s halfcourt heave by Northern Iowa’s Paul Jesperson. Players on both teams understood that, just as they understand they’re not going to win every game they play. However, what the two teams gave fans was grit, determination, and a heavyweight fight. These players stepped up for big moments and they all got their share of time in the spotlight.
“This program, this culture is about high-character guys”, Josh Hart said.
It’s not just that Arcidiacono is a team leader, or that he was named MOP of the Final Four. With 1:39 left in the game, Villanova held onto a 70-64 lead. “This is something they’ll never be able to take away from us”.
As their college basketball careers come to a close, Arcidiacono, Ochefu, Lowe, Farrell and Rafferty will go down in school history as the group to lead the Wildcats to a second National Championship.
While Oklahoma was suffering through its worst shooting performance of the season, Villanova seemingly couldn’t miss, hitting practically every shot that was headed in the direction of the basket. With 35 seconds left, he knocked down two free throws-he made all six of his attempts Monday-to extend Villanova’s lead to three. There were no extra headlines going into the game, and nothing to get too excited about unless you were a fan of either the University of North Carolina or Villanova University. But, yet again, Villanova managed to surprise me one last time.
After a timeout, Arcidiacono took the inbound pass from Jenkins, worked the ball upcourt and got it back to the junior guard.
Using superior size to shut down access to the hoop, North Carolina (33-7) staged a fierce comeback, capped by Paige’s desperation three-pointer that seemed likely to send the game to overtime.
It was a thing of beauty, that Villanova buzzer-beater Monday night.
The finish to this game was unfathomable, unimaginable, unreal. The Phillies were the last to win a title – in 2008.
Advertisement
North Carolina just couldn’t quite pull it out, and, at the end of the day, Villanova was standing on that stage with confetti raining down after a 77-74 victory.
