North Carolina Beats Gonzaga 71-65 For NCAA Championship Game; Joel Berry Named Most Outstanding Player

One year ago, North Carolina felt crushed after losing to Villanova 77-74 in the NCAA championship game at the buzzer.

North Carolina Earns Sixth NCAA Title vs Gonzaga With 71-65 Win

On Monday night in Glendale, Arizona, the Tar Heels (33-7) found themselves on the other side of the coin when they defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 71-65 to win their sixth national title and third under coach Roy Williams.

“At the end, when you’re watching your kids jump around,” Williams said, “there’s no better feeling in the world as a coach.”

After the game, Williams also praised his counterpart at Gonzaga, Mark Few, calling him one of the best coaches in college basketball.

 Joel Berry II led UNC with 22 points, six assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block, and the junior guard was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Kennedy Meeks added 7 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels, contributing a key block in the final seconds that helped spur early victory celebrations from their fans at the University of Phoenix and left Gonzaga’s players feeling despondent, knowing that scoring six points in less than 10 seconds to tie the game and force overtime was too unrealistic a feat.

The Bulldogs (37-2) were playing in their 19th straight NCAA Tournament but first-ever Final Four.

When North Carolina played in Greenville, S.C., in the early rounds of the N.C.A.A. tournament, the Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney talked to Williams and reminded him that the Tigers won the national championship game one year after losing it, and urged Williams to help his team get the title. “Win it just like we did,” Swinney told him.

The Tar Heels are now the fourth men’s college basketball team to do exactly that.

“We won’t be remembered as a team that lost in the finals,” Meeks said.

Kris Jenkins, the Villanova player who scored the title-winning shot against North Carolina last year sat in the stands on Monday, watching his half brother, Tar Heels point guard Nate Britt help his team on their redemption tour. Jenkins said he felt more nervous watching Britt play this year than he did playing for Villanova last year.

“Amazing, man,” Jenkins said. “Amazing. That’s all I can say: amazing.”

Gonzaga started off strong with outside shooting (5 of 9 from 3-point range). The Bulldogs went on a 13-point run to lead for almost 15 minutes of the first half.

In the first half, North Carolina got big dunks from players like Theo Pinson, who dunked in front of Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski.

Despite missing 11 of their first 13 3-point attempts, North Carolina still managed to just trail by three (35-32) at halftime.

However, after the Tar Heels went on an 8-0 run to open the second half, a 3-pointer from Jordan Mathews re-gave Gonzaga the lead (41-40) with 16.5 minutes remaining.

Nigel Williams-Goss and Johnathan Williams scored back-to-back 3-pointers for the Bulldogs, who began the second half shooting 3 of 19 from the field. After that, North Carolina led just 62-60 with 3:08 left.

“They did everything we asked them to do,” Few said. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough, and some last-minute defensive errors cost the Zags the game.

In the final minute, as the Tar Heels led 66-65, Isaiah Hicks hit a bank shot to stretch North Carolina’s lead to 3. After Meeks blocked a shot from Williams-Goss, the ball was passed to Justin Jackson, who raced, nearly alone, to the opposite end of the court and landed a dunk that made the crowd at the University of Phoenix roar.

Hicks blocked a shot from Gonzaga’s 7-footer Zach Collins in the second half. Collins scored 9 points before fouling out with 5 minutes 3 seconds remaining.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Jackson said.

“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever felt,” said Hicks, who made the key layup with 26 seconds left to put North Carolina ahead by 3. “I haven’t cried like this in years.”

Article by Pablo Mena