So the 2015-16 Tar Heels turned out to be a team of destiny after all…
…it just wasn’t quite the destiny we wanted.
After a year of preseason accolades, hype, doubt, and triumph, Brice and Marcus and crew stormed through the ACC tourney and ran all the way to the NCAA title game, only to come up juuust short at the hands of stupid Villanova and stupid Kris Jenkins’ stupid last-second 3.
Great game. Memorable season. Just not quite a national title.
But never fear!
I’m calling it right now: Carolina will win the NCAA championship in 2018.
Roy Williams (Photo by Todd Melet)
How can I be so sure?
Because we’ve seen this story before.
Seventeen years before, to be precise.
Go back to 1999. March 29, St. Petersburg. Usually some interloping 3- or 4-seed sneaks into the NCAA final, but that year’s final featured undeniably the two best teams in the nation. On the one side, the Big East champion (Connecticut rather than Villanova), seeking a title after several years of coming up just short. On the other side, the ACC champ (Duke rather than UNC), seeking its first national title in…yep, exactly seven years.
It would have been the third overall for their legendary coach.
Is this sounding familiar?
Both teams brought their A games. Back and forth the whole way. Duke scored 39 first-half points and led at halftime – just like Carolina did – but UConn came back and pulled out a thrilling victory in the closing seconds.
Final score? 77-74. Yes, exactly the same as UNC-Nova. Look it up.
And two years later, Duke won the NCAA title.
So that’s it. I’m calling it. The similarities are too eerie. It can’t be coincidence, y’all. It’s got to be destiny.
Tar Heels! 2018 national champions!
(Provided the NCAA doesn’t get in the way, of course.)
And while I’m making wild predictions, don’t worry: Marcus Paige will get his NCAA title too. Twenty years from now. After he takes over for Hubert Davis as UNC’s head coach.
(Try to remember you heard it here first.)
A Far-Too-Early Look at 2017 UNC Basketball
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