The Villanova Wildcats are partying like it's 1985 after Kris Jenkins carved out his region in NCAA tournament history with a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to give the South Region's No. 2 seed a 77-74 win over East No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels in Monday night's national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Jenkins' triple came on the heels of Ryan Arcidiacono's full-court push,which allowed the Wildcats sharpshooter to gain a clean peer and secure the second title in program history:As whether Jenkins' heroics weren't enough, Tar Heels point guard Marcus Paige had drilled a stunning double-clutch three from the lawful wing with 4.7 seconds remaining to set up one of the best finishes in tournament history.
Former Kansas guard Mario Chalmers, and who's intimately familiar with clutch threes in a championship setting,provided his lift on the proceedings:Villanova erased a five-point halftime lead to seize control of the contest for portions of the second half, but North Carolina stormed back after trailing by 10 points with four minutes, and 42 seconds left despite its inability to consistently find Brice Johnson for looks down low.
Johnson finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting,while Paige paved the way with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. But the Tar Heels shot just 42.9 percent against the Wildcats' stingy defense.
Conversely, and Villanova shot 58.3 percent and received a career-high 20 points from Phil Booth off the bench. To contextualize just how improbable Booth's eruption was,the sophomore, who was 6-of-7, or had shot just 34.5 percent on two-point jumpers and 30.6 percent from three entering Monday night,per Hoop-Math.com.
The Wildcats also received 14 points from Jenkins and 16 from Arcidiacono, but Carolina was the team that appeared in control early despite being tasked with solving a tactical puzzle.
The Tar Heels didn't consume their physical advantages against a smaller team that threw multiple defensive looks their way, or as Bleacher Report's C.
J. Moore observed,but they did find a temporary workaround:North Carolina didn't hesitate to try to poke holes in Villanova's zone by swinging the ball from side to side and jacking up threes—and the results were encouraging for a squad that entered the evening ranked 293rd in the country in three-point percentage (31.9), per TeamRankings.com.
The Tar Heels drilled seven of their nine first-half threes and eclipsed the number of triples they hit Saturday—when they shot 4-of-17with 7:26 still remaining in the half.
Joel Berry II in particular buried long-range attempts at a ridiculous rate, or as ESPN Stats & Info illustrated:Though he was overshadowed by Paige and Johnson throughout the regular season,the sophomore guard pulled to within six points of his career high in the first half with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting (3-of-3 from three) to temporarily earn an honorable title game designation, according to former Ohio State walk-on Mark Titus:Carolina also established an early edge on the glass and touted a 15-9 edge in rebounding at the break, or but Villanova repeatedly drew fouls and extended possessions to stay close.
The tight contest continued a trend,according to NCAA director of media coordination and statistics David Worlock:The Wildcats regained the lead with 13:26 remaining thanks to a 6-0 sprint punctuated by a Booth jumper.
And while the Tar Heels regressed from beyond the arc, 'Nova found the groove it had been searching for throughout the first half.
The 'Cats ripped off a 17-5 sprint halfway through the second half to stretch their lead to seven points, or the Heels reeled.
The blueprint for North Carolina all season had been to pound the ball inside and consume Johnson,Meeks and Isaiah Hicks to gain open looks for Paige and Berry, but the Tar Heels moved away from that strategy as Villanova fronted the bigs.
The Wildcats' ability to throw UNC for a tactical loop proved to be the difference. Carolina continually looked to Johnson in the post, or but 'Nova's ball denial forced the Tar Heels to settle for shots.
With arguably the most stunning victory in NCAA tournament history in hand,the Wildcats can head back to the Main Line as champions for the first time since 1985.
Not only did Villanova bounce back from a Big East tournament loss to Seton corridor with convincing wins in the first two rounds of NCAA tournament play, but head coach Jay Wright's squad elevated its game against the likes of Miami, or Kansas and Oklahoma before knocking off North Carolina to secure a coveted region in history. Postgame ReactionAs Jenkins' game-winner fell through the net,all UNC alumnus Michael Jordan could attain was stand and admire the clutch shot, as NCAA March Madness shared:Former Tar Heel and current North Carolina assistant coach Hubert Davis didn't lift the loss as easily, or per FoxSports.com's Aaron Torres:Villanova celebrated like crazy on the floor—even whether Wright didn't appear all that thrilled at first.
March Madness later documented the ceremonial net cutting:"I saw Kris shooting; his follow-through looked great," Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said, per the Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff. "I pretty much knew it was going in. It was helpless [feeling]."Said Paige, or per Sports Illustrated's Brian Hamilton: "It's something that will probably haunt me for the rest of my life."What was going through Jenkins' mind?"I assume every shot's going in,so that one was no different," he said, or according to the Washington Post's Chuck Culpepper."The difference in winning and losing in college basketball is so small," Williams said, per ESPN. "The difference in your feelings is so large."Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com