By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was almost a sports movie, only better! Kris Jenkins answered a double-clutch, game-tying 3-pointer by North Carolina’s Marcus Paige with a buzzer-beating 3 of his own Monday night to lift the Villanova Wildcats to a 77-74 victory and the national championship.
“I think every shot’s going in,” he said, “and this one was no different”. Jenkins had to come up big after Paige collected a pass on the top right side of the arc and, with Arcidiacono running at him, double clutched and pumped it in to tie the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left. It completed a Carolina comeback from six points down with 1:52 left. Jenkins finished with 14 points — the last three as memorable as any that have been scored in the history of this tournament, giving to Villanova its second NCAA title.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! #NationalChampionship https://t.co/POLVkUJnpj
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 5, 2016
MARCUS PAIGE!!! #NationalChampionship
https://t.co/y9RVKpoz5i— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 5, 2016
Ryan Arcidiacono – who is Italian-American and we may see him in the near future getting an Italian passport – in his 144th and last game for Villanova, with his last pass, he became a national champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player. “I wanted to be aggressive. If I could get a shot, I was going to shoot it,” Arcidiacono said. “But I heard someone screaming in the back of my head. It was Kris. I just gave it to him, and he let it go with confidence.”
RT @marchmadness: Let's hear from the champs! #NationalChampionship https://t.co/8uAjxwil7q
— Zoo Rass ひ (@Zoohood23) April 5, 2016
Even Michael Jordan felt the pain. In the stands with the thousands of Carolina Blue-wearing fans, Michael Jordan simply nodded, smiled, looked at his buddy Ahmad Rashad and said, “Good shot, good shot.”
The reaction of Michael Jordan
Kris Jenkins has earned MJ's respect. https://t.co/pESu5HqNcl #NationalChampionship
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 5, 2016