North Carolina’s 2016 season ended in the most painful way possible – having the national championship elude its grasp on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. For the 365 days following that painful memory, the Tar Heels only wanted an opportunity to get back to that position.
They got that opportunity and used a 9-2 surge over the final three minutes to seal a 71-65 victory over Gonzaga to claim the program’s sixth national championship.
“I wanted to see this confetti fall on us and we’re the winners,” Carolina’s Joel Berry II said, according to CBS. “We came out here and we competed. It came down to the last second, but we’re national champs now.”
Berry notched a game-high 22 points and six assists and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Berry, who was not fully healthy due to ankle injuries, became the seventh player in history to post at least 20 points in consecutive title games, joining Bill Russell, Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Charley Singley and Bob Kurland, according to ESPN.com.
This title is the sixth for North Carolina. Head coach Roy Williams has won three of them, making him one of six coaches to win at least three titles. The other five are John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, Jim Calhoun and Bob Knight. Williams moves one ahead of his mentor Dean Smith.
“I think of Coach Smith, there’s no question,” Williams said, according to ESPN.com. “I don’t think I should be mentioned in the same sentence with him. But we got three because I’ve got these guys with me and that’s all I care about right now — my guys.”
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the game. Gonzaga led 35-32 at halftime. The Tar Heels scored the first eight points of the second half. The Zags answered by scoring the next eight.
Kennedy Meeks blocked Gonzaga’s shot with 17 seconds left. This play led to as breakaway dunk for Justin Jackson, which put the Tar Heels up by five.
North Carolina struggled from 3-point land. UNC shot 4-for-27 from long range, and Berry made all four shots.
Jackson and Isaiah Hicks were also in double figures for the Heels with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
Nigel Williams-Goss led the Bulldogs with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Josh Perkins added 13 points.
This tournament run was Gonzaga’s first trip to the Final Four and first title game appearance.
“We broke the glass ceiling everyone said we couldn’t break,” Johnathan Williams said, according to ESPN.com.
The Zags are the fourth team with one loss to lose in the national championship game in the last 20 years.