Villanova Basks In Championship Night
John Fanta
It was a game that, going in, carried the hype a championship contest deserves.
Villanova made it one that sports followers will be talking about for the rest of time.
With just four seconds to go, the Wildcats had the ball with the game tied at 74. The benefit for Jay Wright’s team? It’s one that has multiple weapons that can hit the crunch-time shots. While at first it looked as if Ryan Arcidiacono was going to be the one to take the potential game-winner, the point guard made the pass of the night with a dish to forward Kris Jenkins.
It was only fitting that Jenkins, who has been the Wildcats’ game-changer all season in emerging as an elite stretch-four, delivered a program-changing shot as the clock expired to give Villanova the 77-74 national championship victory over North Carolina.
“It shows how much confidence we have in each other, we were just trying to find the right shot,” said Arcidiacono of the game-winning play.
“They were going to try to take “Arch” away because he’s hit big shots in his career,” said Jenkins. “When they all followed the ball, I just knew if I got in his line of vision, he would find me.”
The shot resulted in pandemonium on the floor, with players dashing off the court and heading to the stands to their families. Villanova had done it. The Wildcats had overcome a furious rally by the Tar Heels to make a
national statement that they are at the top of the college basketball world.
“You’re like a parent when you’re a coach,” said Jay Wright. “That’s what it’s all about for a coach, just to see their eyes, to see their satisfaction, their enjoyment. There’s no better feeling in the world for a coach or parent.”
In what was a game of runs, the opening minutes set the tone for the historic night it would be as the two teams went into the first media timeout in a 7-7 tie.
While Jenkins sat down with two early fouls, he returned with just over six minutes to play in the first half and knocked down two jumpers on as many possessions to even the match-up at 27 apiece.
It was the Tar Heels, though, who separated themselves just before the break, but not before a certain Wildcat sophomore hammered home a foreshadowing shot to beat the first half buzzer. It was Phil Booth who pulled Villanova within five, making it a 39-34 contest as the two teams departed for the locker room.
What Roy Williams’ team did not know was Booth was just getting started. UNC pushed its lead to 41-34 in the opening ticks of the second stanza, but the Wildcats turned on the jets as a Booth jumper completed a 12-3 surge to give Wright’s group a 46-44 edge with 13:28 remaining.
After the Tar Heels evened the contest up on the ensuing possession, Booth drilled a trifecta to push the Wildcats’ edge to three. The sophomore reserve finished with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting to lead Villanova in scoring.
The advantage boosted to seven after jumpers by Jenkins and Arcidiacono, and after the Tar Heels cut the edge down to 60-57 with seven minutes to play, the senior point guard began a key surge to give Wright’s team a critical cushion.
Arcidiacono scored five straight points and Booth hit on a pair of free throws to give Villanova its biggest lead at 67-57 with just 5:29 remaining.
It was a championship bout that was only getting started, though, as North Carolina rolled out a 12-3 run of its own to get within one of the Wildcats with 1:06 to play.
Momentum looked as if it had shifted to the Tar Heels. It looked as if they could pull the Wildcats’ potential one shining moment away from them.
With the shot clock winding down on the following possession, Booth drove through the middle of the lane, hesitated with a ball fake and was fouled with 35 seconds to play. The reserve showed no nerves, calmly hitting on the two shots from the charity stripe.
“Strength. We have belief and confidence in each other,” said Booth when asked about the Wildcats responding from losing their lead. “No matter what, we can bounce back from anything going on together.”
The Wildcats most definitely showed that ability after Marcus Paige knocked down a game-tying triple to even the score at 74 with just seconds left.
Just like each and every time they had their backs against a wall, they found a way. This team, a champion, can be summed up by the one who led his Wildcats to the program’s last title in 1985, Rollie Massimino.
He kept it simple when asked what made this 2016 squad the best in college basketball.
“They loved each other every step of the way. They never stopped loving one other.”