Freshly off their 44-point Final Four victory over Oklahoma, Villanova faced off against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night. The stage was set for a historic showdown, with both teams coming off big wins. North Carolina came in as a slight favorite and analysts were counting Villanova out; just as they have been doing all tournament. They struggled to see how Villanova could possibly match up against the powerful big men of North Carolina. One thing that everyone could agree on was that this game was going to go down to the wire. This was Villanova’s chance to finally silence their doubters and it was North Carolina’s chance to add another championship to their famed resume.   

From the opening tip of this game, it was clear that this was going to be a battle. Each team exchanged blow after blow, and they both showed little signs of slowing down. Villanova had a strong first-half showing, but North Carolina lit it up from three and built up a slim lead. The defining moment of that half came in the last few seconds when Josh Hart chased down a Justin Jackson fast break and blocked him from behind. That block lead to a mid-range jump shot on the other end that let the Wildcats enter the locker room down 39 to 34, which could have been a nine point deficit if not for Hart’s heroics. Also, considering that North Carolina had just shot over 75% from behind the arc, Nova trailing by five was not too bad.

At the start of the second half, there was something different. While the score remained close, Villanova was imposing their will and controlling the pace of the game. They played at their own speed and kept scoring. With 12 and a half minutes left in the game, the Wildcats had built up a ten point lead and were in the midst of a big second half surge. The man leading that charge was surprisingly Phil Booth, a second year guard, who had served as reserve for most of the season. He scored a career high 20 points in this game and was six of seven from their field. Despite Booth’s and Villanova’s best efforts, North Carolina would not go out easily. They clawed their way back into the game and some missed free throws by Villanova allowed them to cut their deficit down to five points with around three minutes to go. At that point both teams were locked in, this game was going to go down to whoever has the last possession.

Joel Berry and Marcus Paige each were hitting big shots for North Carolina, but the Villanova guards matched everything they did. With 23 seconds, left Paige hit a huge layup that cut the lead to one. North Carolina fouled after the inbound pass and Josh Hart responded by knocking down two clutch free throws with only 13 seconds left on the clock. Down by three, North Carolina speedily ran up the court. Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu dove and flew across the floor, going for the steal. He was eluded by Marcus Paige, who jumped up and double-clutched the ball to avoid Ryan Arcidiacono. In the air, Paige awkwardly launched a three-pointer that flew into the air and swished through the net. The games was tied with 4.8 seconds left on the clock and overtime seemed imminent.

The Wildcats, calm as ever, called a timeout and went into the huddle. Jay Wright drew up a play that they surely run in practice every day – the boys were ready to make those five seconds count. It was Kris Jenkins who inbounded the ball and passed it in to Ryan Arcidiacono, the four-year captain. Arcidiacono ran up the court to the top of the key. The contested shot was there for him, but instead he did exactly what he has been doing for the past four years; he made the extra pass to his teammate. Kris Jenkins, who had trailed Arcidiacono after the inbound, caught the ball smoothly and stepped into his jump shot. The buzzer sounded and the ball swished through the net. Jenkins had hit a three to put the Wildcats up and won the game for Villanova; forever cementing himself in history. The final score was 77 to 74 and Villanova won their second NCAA tournament and their first since 1985. The Wildcats can no longer be know as a team that only performs in the regular season and here’s to hoping that their next championship win doesn’t take another 31 years to happen.