With perhaps the greatest shot in the history of the sport, Villanova captured its second improbable and near-miraculous national championship on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer – giving the Wildcats a 77-74 win over North Carolina at NRG Stadium – the final, forever image of a thrilling back-and-forth title game.
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Does anyone love basketball more than Chuck?
“After he made that shot I was just thinking the next play…we still have an opportunity to come down and get a good shot”, Jenkins said. Jenkins finished with 14 points and Arcidiacono had 16 points.
Arcidiacono passed to his open teammate, whose 3-pointer beat the buzzer for a 77-74 victory over North Carolina on Monday night. Coincidentally, his brother, Nate Britt, Jr., was playing for the Tar Heels Monday night.
But Barkley noted that, thanks to TNT’s cameras, he saw Jordan’s expression after North Carolina’s Marcus Paige tied the game with 4.7 seconds left on a three-pointer.
That Villanova only trailed by five at the break, and had momentum with a Josh Hart block leading to a Phil Booth jumper at the first-half buzzer. Now they are on top and it’s time for people to recognize that Wright, who just completed his 15th season at Villanova and who reached the Final Four in 2009, is no longer just a regular season coach with Big East titles, he has a national championship.
As you can see, Villanova Coach Jay Wright eventually went wild celebrating his team’s national title.
Carolina coach Roy Williams was looking for his third national championship with the Tar Heels and the school’s sixth overall, but just couldn’t make it happen.
Jenkins’ shot is one that will go down in infamy, but where do we rank it compared to others.
This will be a tournament Northern Iowa will never forget, going from as high as a team can get to as low as no team had before.
The winning shot – which will go down as one of, if not the best in tournament history – was the result of a play, one the Wildcats work on every day, executed perfectly at the ideal time.
Said Jenkins, “When (UNC) followed the ball, I just knew if I got in his line of vision, he would find me”.
It’s Villanova’s first title since 1985, when Rollie Massimino coaxed a miracle out of his eighth-seeded underdogs for a victory over star-studded Georgetown.
This year, parity had been the theme in men’s college basketball. And while it was assumed that the NCAA tournament was up for grabs, Monday night’s final consisted of two of the best teams in the nation.
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Jay Wright is the coolest guy on the planet right now. North Carolina was comprised of a lot of seniors, like Paige and Brice Johnson, which is uncommon in today’s one and done world.
