Villanova tops Carolina 77-74 on Jenkins’ buzzer-beater
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Villanova guard Josh Hart (3) reacts to play against North Carolina during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game today in Houston.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Villanova forward Kris Jenkins (2) reacts to the end of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against North Carolina today in Houston. Villanova won 77-74.
HOUSTON » One good shot deserved another.
Kris Jenkins of Villanova wasn’t about to be outdone.
Jenkins overcame the shock of watching North Carolina’s Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch 3 to tie it by spotting up behind the right side of the arc and draining a 3 of his own at the buzzer to lift Villanova to a 77-74 victory and the national championship Monday night.
What a shot — and what a game.
The second-seeded Wildcats (35-5), had a six-point lead with 1:52 left, but watched it slowly trickle away. It disappeared when Paige jumped — and with Ryan Arcidacono running at him — double clutched and pumped one from beyond the arc to tie the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
After a timeout, Arcidacono worked the ball upcourt and got it to Jenkins, who swished it from about two steps behind the 3-point line.
“Kris told him he was going to be open, Arch made the perfect pass,” Villanova coach Jay Wright explained. “Kris lives for that moment.”
Jenkins’ range is anywhere in the gym, as he showed earlier in the tournament by nonchalantly draining a shot from the edge of the midcourt logo.
He never had a doubt.
“I think every shot’s going in, and this one was no different,” he said.
After being thrown to the floor by his teammates, he got up, leaped over press row, hugged his family and shouted: “They said we couldn’t, they said we couldn’t, they said we couldn’t.”
Oh yes, they could.
It’s Villanova’s first title since 1985, when Rollie Massimino coaxed a miracle out of his eighth-seeded underdogs for a victory over star-studded Georgetown.
Hard to top this one, though.
Jenkins, who was adopted by the family of North Carolina guard Nate Britt, now has a spot with Keith Smart, Lorenzo Charles and anyone else who ever made a late game-winner to win the whole thing.
Paige finished with 21 for the top-seeded Heels (33-7), who came one agonizing shot short of giving coach Roy Williams his third national title.
Instead, this one belongs to Villanova, a team full of scrappers, grinders and also-rans, who proved you don’t have to have a roster full of NBA-bound one-and-dones to win a title.
Before Jenkins did his thing, it was Phil Booth — one of the many unheralded players on that Villanova squad — pouring in a career high 20 points to give the Cats their late six-point lead.
Booth’s force turnaround jumper with the shot-clock blaring and a free throw from Josh Hart gave Villanova a 70-64 lead with 1:52 left.
But Carolina never quits. Paige sandwiched a 3-pointer and a putback around Brice Johnson’s bucket to help the Tar Heels stay within striking range. Then, he tied the game and the Carolina fans went wild.
It looked like overtime.
Thanks to Jenkins, it wasn’t.
“Every kid dreams about that shot,” Arcidacono said. “I wanted that shot, but I just had confidence in my teammates and Kris was able to knock down that shot.”
14 responses to “Villanova tops Carolina 77-74 on Jenkins’ buzzer-beater”
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This was a game to watch. Unfortunately I missed it. Only can watch highlights. But happy for ‘Nova’.
Wow! Two incredible 3-pointers at the end. These two teams deserved to play in the finals.
this championship game is one of the best I have seen in some time.
Best game I can remember in recent history. The last real barn burner in my memory was Jim Valavno’s NC St winning with a short shot plucked out of the air and dunked just before the buzzer.
It’s really too bad that there are not more White folks allowed in Basketball. I think there should be an investigation. Maybe a start would be for the NBA to invest more money into the middle class areas. Maybe paying for new facilities in these “White” areas. It’s really sad. Maybe they should start affirmative action in basketball. Why are there so few “White” players in the NBA? The “white” players get drafted but then are cut. It’s nothing but discrimination I tell ya!
#sarcasm
Yes, but I hope it makes a few people think.
Get over it. Whites still have golf, swimming, equestrian sports AND hockey. Oh yeah and baseball which no one watches anymore. #more sarcasm.
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#What a game!!!!!
white men can’t jump. lol!
1.) Screw the race nuts; they shouldn’t be watching decent people compete at this high a level.
2.) This is the greatest title game in – forever! Two great teams deciding it at the buzzer. How much greater does sport get?
Villanova’s win proves that the South Region, the region Hawaii was seeded in, was the toughest in the NCAA Tournament.
I caught the last several minutes of the game and thought at first, I was watching an North Carolina stream. TNT and its commentators were, without shame, obviously biased for NC. The post game so called ‘highlights’ were ONLY of the Tar Heels. There was absolutely nothing of Villanova. You would have thought NC had won the game! It was so disgusting, I switched immediately to ESPN for their post game show. TNT whitewashed Villanova in what was probably the best ever NCAA basketball championship game.
Agree, very tilted to NC. Loved Charles Barkley’s reaction to the winning shot, though. He still has hops.
great game
too bad someone had to lose