Written by Nicole Auerbach at USAToday.com
They’re going to party like it’s 1985 after all.
These Villanova Wildcats finished off one of the most improbable and offensively insane NCAA tournament runs, culminating in a 77-74 win against North Carolina Monday night in the championship game at NRG Stadium.
Kris Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer lifted the Wildcats in one of the most thrilling championship games in tournament history.
“I can’t wait to see that look (on my face) because I was just shocked and (Ryan) Arcidiacono made a great pass and Kris Jenkins has been incredible all year,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said “We beat a class program. Great coach and great team. We have a lot of respect for North Carolina.”
The winning basket came after an almost-as-spectacular three-pointer from the Tar Heels’ Marcus Paige, who double-pumped, then fired, tying the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
“We have an end of the game situation play like that,” Wright said he told his team in a timeout after Paige’s stunner. “We put it in Arci’s hands and Kris told him he was going to be open and Arch made the perfect pass. Kris lives for that moment.”
The title is just the second in Villanova program history; the first, of course, belongs to the ’85 team that played the so-called Perfect Game to upset Georgetown in the championship game.
Legendary Villanova coach Rollie Massimino, who coached that team, attended the game along with many members of the ’85 team. Some Villanova fans wore T-shirts tying the two teams together.
Indeed, there was something magical and full-circle about this Wildcats squad.
Maybe it was the 71.4% shooting performance against Oklahoma in the Final Four, the second-best shooting performance by any team in Final Four history. The first? The ’85 Villanova team.
Perhaps it was just time.
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