Following a miracle sent from the heavens down to Houston–an off-balance, game-tying three-pointer by UNC guard Marcus Paige with four seconds remaining–Villanova forward Kris Jenkins got the ball wide open at the top of the key.

Jenkins then calmly swished a three of his own–leading the Wildcats to an unbelievable 77-74 victory over the Tar Heels in Monday night’s NCAA National Championship Game.

“All we needed was 4.7 seconds of defense,” an emotional Paige said after the game. “It didn’t work out.

“Kris is their best three-point shooter and he got a pretty clean look—for whatever reason,” he continued. “There’s 75 possessions in the game, and they just happened to get the last one and make the shot.”

Marcus Paige walks off the court after Jenkins' shot. (Todd Melet)

Marcus Paige walks off the court after Jenkins’ shot. (Todd Melet)

UNC, led by Paige, had just put together a furious run to rally from 10 points down in the final five minutes.

It clearly wasn’t supposed to end like that.

The Tar Heels had proven doubters wrong all season, and this was supposed to be their moment and their time.

It was supposed to be time for Paige and his fellow seniors Brice Johnson and Joel James to end their college careers the right way, and it was supposed to be time for fans to flood Franklin Street so they could celebrate all night.

Instead, it was Villanova that was left with all the time—those 4.7 seconds to be exact—after Paige’s prayer.

All UNC head coach Roy Williams could do from the sidelines was watch.

“I saw Kris shoot it,” Williams said. “And his follow-through looked great. I pretty much knew it was going in—and it was.

“It was helpless,” the coach added, after pausing for a second to keep from choking up. “It was not a good feeling.”

Jenkins, the legal brother of UNC guard Nate Britt, set off every firework inside NRG Stadium as his shot instantly became one of the most memorable in NCAA history–leaving the Tar Heels—and the entire town of Chapel Hill–in a state of disbelief.

The Tar Heels rallied to tie the game after being 10 points down with five minutes to go .(Todd Melet)

The Tar Heels rallied to tie the game after being 10 points down with five minutes to go. (Todd Melet)

“When we were down 10, in the huddle I promised them—if they do what I told ‘em to do we’d have a chance to win the game at the end,” Williams said. “I just didn’t go guard Kris.”

Although Villanova needed to go the length of the floor to get a shot off, the Wildcats put the ball in the hands of their senior leader—and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player—Ryan Arcidiacono.

Having already amassed 16 points in the game the Tar Heels were focused on him and guard Phil Brooks, who had 20.

Jenkins, who inbounded the ball, was supposed to be picked up by Johnson–according to Williams–but the Tar Heel big man was wandering around down low. Aricidiacono then found Jenkins and tossed him the ball as he cut past–leaving Joel Berry and Isaiah Hicks having to scramble out late.

The ball left Jenkins’ hands with just a split second remaining, and the rest is now history.

“It’s so crazy,” Williams said. “A couple of times we rolled the ball [inbounds] to save a couple of seconds and that was the smart thing to do. Maybe if it hadn’t have gone in we’d have had it in overtime.

“The difference between winning and losing in college basketball is so small,” he continued. “But the difference in your feelings is so large.”

Villanova’s high-pressure defense forced the Tar Heels into a three-point battle and prevented them from getting comfortable inside all night long. With a Villanova player consistently fronting him in the post, Johnson was limited to just 14 points.

UNC’s other top forwards, Hicks and Kennedy Meeks, combined to score just eight as UNC was outscored in the paint for just the sixth time all year.

UNC was unable to get its big men going against Villanova's tough defense. (Todd Melet)

UNC was unable to get its big men going against Villanova’s tough defense. (Todd Melet)

However, Berry had 20 points–including 15 in the first half–and made all four threes he took in one of his best performances of the year.

Justin Jackson even hit a trio of three-pointers to keep UNC alive early on.

But at the end it still appeared Paige was going to get the storybook ending he deserved–even after struggling for most of the year.

The man Williams calls a “tough little nut” scored eight of his game-high 21 points in the final two minutes–including the three that appeared it would hand UNC its sixth national championship.

Like most fairy tales, though, it was just too good to be true.

“You want that to be your moment,” Paige said. “As bad as you’ve ever wanted anything in your life, you don’t know how much our team wanted this game.

“We just came up a little bit short.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels are expected to return to Chapel Hill at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. For the seniors–Paige, Johnson, and James–it was their final time wearing a UNC jersey out on the court.

Game Notes:

  • Jenkins had the first buzzer beater to win title since Lorenzo Charles dunk for NC State in 1983. He finished with 14 points in the game after battling foul trouble in the first half.
  • This is the fifth time North Carolina has lost in the National Championship game. The previous four opponent’s head coaches are all in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
  • North Carolina had the second-highest three-point field-goal percentage (64.7) in a tournament loss in the last 20 seasons.

 

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