(Courtesy of UNC Sports Information)
Post-game Notes, NCAA Championship Game
Villanova 77, North Carolina 74
April 4, 2016
• Villanova won the 2016 NCAA championship, 77-74, on a three-point field goal by Kris Jenkins as time expired. Tar Heel senior Marcus Paige made the 299th and final three-pointer of his career with 4.7 seconds to play to cap a 17-7 UNC run to tie the game prior to Jenkins’ winning shot.
• It was the second game-winning buzzer beater by the opponents this year – Javan Felix hit a two-pointer as Texas beat the Tar Heels, 84-82, in Austin on 12/12/15.
• Carolina finished the season 33-7. The 33 wins equal the fifth most in a season in school history.
• Carolina lost seven games this season by a total of 25 points (the largest margin of defeat was six points at Louisville). That’s the lowest combined total since the 1941 team’s first seven (of nine) losses came by a total of 18 points.
• The last time UNC did not lose a game by more than six points in a season was 1987 when the Tar Heels lost four games, including a five-point loss to UCLA that was the largest margin of defeat that season.
• The championship game marked the first time Carolina played 40 games in a season (previous high was 39 in 2008).
• The Tar Heels are 117-45 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• Carolina is 5-5 in national finals with losses in 1946 (Oklahoma A&M), 1968 (UCLA), 1977 (Marquette), 1981 (Indiana) and 2016 (Villanova). The loss to Villanova snapped a four-game Tar Heel winning streak in NCAA title games (1982, 1993, 2005, 2009).
• The three-point margin tied the smallest margin of defeat for UNC in a national title game. In 1946, Oklahoma A&M beat the Tar Heels, 43-40.
• Carolina is fourth all-time in national championship game appearances with 10 (UCLA is 11-2 in 13 games, Kentucky is 8-4 in 12, Duke is 5-6 in 11, Carolina is 5-5 in 10 and Kansas is 3-6 in nine).
• Roy Williams coached in the national championship game for the fifth time (2-3). He is the fifth coach to take his team to the championship game five times. The others include: John Wooden (10 times, 10-0), Mike Krzyzewski (9 times, 5-4), Adolph Rupp (5 times, 4-1) and Dean Smith (5 times, 2-3).
• Williams is 70-24 in the NCAA Tournament. He is second in games with 94, second in wins with 70 and fifth in winning percentage among coaches with at least 50 games in the Tournament history (.745).
• Williams is 36-10 in the NCAA Tournament at Carolina. His winning percentage at UNC (.783) is the highest in ACC history.
• The Tar Heels are 55-11 as a No. 1 seed.
• Carolina shot 34.3 percent from the floor in the second half, its lowest percentage in a half since the final game of the regular season when it shot 28.2 percent in the second half in the win at Duke.
• Carolina shot 64.7 percent from three-point range (11 of 17).
• The 11 three-pointers equal the second-most by UNC in an NCAA Tournament game (record is 12 vs. Oakland in 2005; also had 11 four other times, including vs. Indiana in the 2016 East semifinal)
• The 11 three-pointers equal the third most ever in the NCAA championship game and are the second most by the losing team.
12 by Kentucky vs. Syracuse, 1996
12 by Illinois vs. North Carolina, 2005 (UNC won)
11 by North Carolina vs. Villanova, 2016 (Villanova won)
11 by Michigan State vs. Florida, 2000
11 by Syracuse vs. Kansas, 2003
• Carolina set an NCAA championship game record by shooting 64.7 percent from three-point range. The previous high was 63.6 percent by Indiana vs. Syracuse in 1987 (Hoosiers made 7 of 11). The previous high for at least 10 threes made was Syracuse vs. Kansas in 2003 when the Orange made 11 of 18 and shot 61.1 percent.
• Ironically, Carolina set the NCAA championship game record for three-point percentage in a season when the Tar Heels finished with a three-point percentage of .327, lowest in school history (previous was .328 in 2010-11).
• Carolina’s three-point percentage of .647 (11 for 17) was the seventh-highest in school history for any game and the highest in any NCAA Tournament game in which UNC made at least 10 three-pointers.
• Carolina’s three-point percentage is the second-best for any game in Final Four history behind UNLV’s 1990 semifinal vs. Georgia Tech when the Rebels shot 66.7 percent on 10 of 15 3FGs. UNC’s .647 is the highest in any Final Four game in which the team made at least 11 threes.
• Carolina and Villanova combined to make 19 three-pointers – 11 by the Tar Heels and eight, including the game-winner, by the Wildcats. That’s the second-most in championship game history. In 2005, Carolina and Illinois combined for 21 – 12 by the Illini and nine by the champion Tar Heels.
• Carolina began the Final Four by going 0 for 12 from on three-pointers in the first 30:33 in the semifinal vs. Syracuse. Over the last 49:27, the Tar Heels made 15 of 22 three-pointers, including 4 of their last 5 vs. the Orange and 11 of 17 vs. Villanova.
• Carolina was 16 for 46 (.348) from two-point range against Villanova. That followed a semifinal win over Syracuse in which UNC was 31 of 48 on two-point attempts (.646). The Tar Heels came into the national championship game shooting 54.4 percent from two-point range for the season.
• Carolina was 12-1 this year at neutral sites with the only loss coming in the national title game.
• Villanova shot 58.3 percent from the floor, the highest percentage against UNC all year. It was just the third opponent to shoot 50 percent against UNC. The Tar Heels won the other two games in which the opponents shot 50 percent (Maryland and Notre Dame in the regional final). UNC had held the opponents to under 45 percent from the floor in 29 of the previous 30 games.
• Villanova made 8 of 14 three-pointers and shot 57.1 percent from three-point range, the highest percentage against UNC all season (previous was 50 percent on four occasions – Kansas State, Texas, Florida State and at Notre Dame).
• Villanova’s three-point percentage of .571 equals the highest percentage by an opponent in UNC’s NCAA Tournament history (Georgetown also shot 8 of 14 in the 2007 East Region final).
• Neither team scored a single fast break point. It was the first time this season UNC did not have a fast break point (previous low was two in losses at Northern Iowa and Virginia and a win at Boston College). It was the seventh time this year UNC opponents did not have a fast break point.
• Carolina scored 26 points in the paint. That’s the second-fewest points in the paint this season (previous was 22 in a loss at Northern Iowa). The Tar Heels finished the year 24-1 when they scored 40 or more paint points and 0-4 when they scored less than 30 (22 in loss at Northern Iowa, 26 in loss to Villanova, 28 in loss at Louisville and 28 in loss at Virginia).
• Carolina lost for just the second time in 28 games this year when it had more second-chance points. UNC had 11 to two for Villanova. The only other loss was at home to Duke.
• Carolina has now played Villanova more than any other opponent in UNC’s NCAA Tournament history. Monday’s championship game was UNC’s 162nd NCAA game and the seventh against Villanova (UNC leads, 5-2). Villanova beat UNC en route to both of its national championships – in the regional final in 1985 and the title game in 2016.
PLAYER NOTES
• Senior guard Marcus Paige scored a game-high 21 points and had a game-high six assists in his 141st and final game as a Tar Heel. It was his 94th game scoring in double figures, his 23rd 20-point game and the 34th time he led UNC in scoring (seventh time this year).
• Paige was 7 for 17 from the floor, 4 for 7 from 3FG and 3 for 4 from the FT line. It was the 22nd time in his career he made at least four three-pointers.
• Paige scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including eight in the final 1:33 to bring UNC from six points down to a tie at 74-all.
• Paige’s fourth three-pointer, the 299th of his career, was a miraculous, off-balance shot that tied the game with 4.7 seconds to play. It was the 39th three-pointer in his NCAA Tournament career, which set a UNC record (previous was 38 by Donald Williams from 1992-95).
• Paige finished his career with 1,844 points (11th in UNC history), 299 three-pointers (first in UNC and 11th in ACC history), 602 assists (8th) and 203 steals (3rd). He has the fourth-highest free throw percentage in UNC history at .844.
• Paige passed Bob Lewis for 11th place in UNC scoring and Duke’s Jon Scheyer for 11th in ACC three-pointers in the championship game.
• Paige made 20 for 41 (.488) from three-point range in six NCAA Tournament games this season.
• Paige’s 20 three-pointers are the most by a Tar Heel in any NCAA Tournament. The previous record was 19 by Donald Williams in six games in 1993.
• Paige made at least two three-pointers in all 13 of his NCAA Tournament games.
• First-team All-America forward Brice Johnson became the seventh Tar Heel to earn first-team All-ACC Tournament, All-NCAA Regional and first-team All-Final Four honors in the same year (Larry Miller, 1968; Robert McAdoo, 1972; James Worthy and Sam Perkins, 1982; Eric Montross, 1993; Tyler Hansbrough, 2009; and Johnson, 2016).
• Johnson made 6 of 10 field goals and had 14 points and eight rebounds. He finished the year with 678 points (17.0), 416 rebounds (10.4) and 59 blocks and shot 61.4 percent from the floor and 78.3 percent from the free throw line.
• Johnson scored in double figures for the 37th time this year. That is the second-most games scoring in double figures in a season by a Tar Heel. Tyler Hansbrough holds the record with 39 in 2008; Antawn Jamison (36 in 1998) and Eric Montross (36 in 1993) now stand tied for third.
• Johnson grabbed 416 rebounds this year, the most ever by a Tar Heel in a season (previous record was 399 by Tyler Hansbrough in 2008).
• Johnson is the first Tar Heel and 14th player in ACC history with 400 rebounds in a season. His 416 are the 10th-most in ACC history and the most since Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) had 457 in 1997.
• Johnson finished his career with 1,716 points (17th in UNC history), 1,035 rebounds (5th) and 163 blocks (7th). He shot 57.5 percent from the floor (14th).
• Johnson (1,035) passed Antawn Jamison (1,027) for fifth place in UNC history in rebounds and passed Rick Fox and Billy Cunningham for 17th place in scoring.
• Johnson played 148 games as a Tar Heel. He is second in UNC history in games played behind only Deon Thompson (152).
• Johnson scored 114 points in the six games in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. That’s the fourth-most points and fourth-highest average (19.0) for six games in UNC history.
• Johnson and Isaiah Hicks finished the year as two of four players in school history to shoot 60 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line in the same season and two of only three ACC players to do that in the last 20 years.
• Johnson is the third Tar Heel ever and the first since 1975 to average a double-double and shoot 60 percent from the floor in a season.
• Johnson is the fifth Tar Heel to average a double-double in the last 39 years.
• Joel Berry scored 20 points (15 in the first half) and had four assists in the championship game. Berry was 4 for 4 from three-point range, helping UNC set the record for highest three-point percentage in finals history.
• Berry joined Brice Johnson on the All-Final Four team. He was the ACC Tournament MVP earlier this year.
• It was the 34th time Berry scored in double figures this year and just the third time UNC lost when he did (at Notre Dame, at Virginia and Villanova).
• It was Berry’s third career and third 20-point game of the season (21 at Virginia, 20 vs. Pitt in the ACC quarterfinal and 20 vs. Villanova).
• The four three-pointers were the most by Berry since he hit a career-high five at Virginia on 2/27.
• Berry finished the year 91 for 105 from the free throw line, a percentage of .867 which is the seventh-highest in UNC single-season history. Berry is 119 for 142 in two seasons from the line, a percentage of .838 that is the sixth-highest in UNC history.
• Berry had 62 turnovers in 40 games, an average of 1.55 per game. That is the fewest by a UNC starting point guard since Carolina began recording turnovers in 1981. Jim Braddock averaged 1.86 in 1983 and Ty Lawson averaged 1.89 in 2009.
• Joel Berry, Isaiah Hicks, Justin Jackson, Brice Johnson and Theo Pinson became the first Tar Heels to play 40 games in a season. The previous record was 39 by Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington, Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson in 2008.
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