North Carolina coach Roy Williams wept. Marcus Paige cried so hard that his teeth chattered. And the rest of the the team were simply shattered by the preposterous last-second sequence that gave Villanova the championship and left UNC heading home empty-handed.
Kris Jenkins nailed the game-winner for Villanova with zero time left, in one of the most exciting finishes in an NCAA title game. UNC’s players, who had fought back from a 10-point deficit to level the game when Paige hit a brilliant three with four seconds left, were stunned.
Even the of presence of legendary Tar Heel Michael Jordan in the locker-room after the game couldn’t prevent the heartache. Williams said he felt powerless – a feeling to which he’s not usually accustomed.
“I just didn’t go guard Kris,” Williams said of Jenkins, whose miraculous shot at the buzzer gave Villanova the 77-74 victory.
“It was helpless,” Williams said, rubbing his face. “It was not a good feeling.”
The pain was clear on Williams’ face. What to say in those circumstances?
“I’m not very good because I can’t take away the hurt,” he said. “I’m not very good because I can’t change that. I told them I loved them. I told them I wish I could have helped them more. That I appreciated them from the bottom of my heart.”
He and the Tar Heels endured a flood of emotions in the final seconds of Monday night’s game. They thought overtime was a foregone conclusion after Paige, who dragged UNC back from the brink and finished with 21 points, tied it up at the end.
“We were 4.7 seconds away from winning the game – because I told the team all we had to do was get to overtime and the game would be ours,” Paige said. “And I truly believe that. I think our whole team believes that.”
Instead it was Villanova who lifted the trophy. Jenkins received Ryan Arcidiacono’s pass just back of the three-point line, got a clean look, leapt, fired – and the ball dropped clean through the net as the buzzer sounded. One of the most incredible climaxes to a basketball game anyone can remember.
“It’s hard because at some point tonight I have to take this jersey off and I never get to put it back on,” Paige said.
After the game, the North Carolina locker room was a sombre place. Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks were in tears as they hugged each other before Jordan, who made the game-winning shot in UNC’s 1982 victory over Georgetown, came in to give a short speech.
“He was just saying he was proud of us and he’s proud to be a Tar Heel and all of those things – and he just wishes the outcome was a little bit better than it was,” Johnson said. “It means a lot. He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game. It’s an honor to be able to say I’m a Tar Heel along with him.”
A clearly upset Johnson bristled when asked to describe his emotions after the game. “I don’t know how to put it into words,” he said. “It hurts. I can tell you that much.”
