Every fan loves to relive unforgettable sports moments. I am honoring that nostalgia with a Butterflies series called “Replays.” Each edition will revisit a special sports memory, add context, and share commentary and reactions surrounding it.
Context
The 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game will go down as one of the best ever. North Carolina entered the game as a #1 seed and two-point favorites over the #2 seed Villanova Wildcats. The game featured 10 future NBA players, with Josh Hart (Villanova) and Brice Johnson (North Carolina) leading their respective teams.
With just over five minutes remaining, Villanova had a 10-point lead, but North Carolina came roaring back.
Marcus Paige of North Carolina hit a wild off-balanced three-pointer to tie the game with 4.7 seconds remaining. No one really remembers this shot. I certainly didn’t. However, it was a great shot that could have been iconic had the outcome been different.
Villanova had the ball under their own basket with one last possession before overtime. This set the stage for the dramatic moment.
The Moment
Reactions
Student reactions watching at Villanova University (fair warning, turn the volume down)
Oral histories
Multiple oral histories have been written describing the final moments of this game. This one is my favorite. Maybe my favorite quote from the whole piece was Villanova’s guard, Ryan Arcidiacono, who had the assist and talked about the preparation that went into the final play:
“It was something we’d practiced every single day for like the last four years. We all knew I was gonna have the ball in my hands to make the decision of what was going to happen.”
My second favorite quote was from Kris Jenkins, who knew exactly how North Carolina was going to defend the play:
“I told Arch when we broke the huddle that I had a chance to be open, because they’re not going to put anyone on the ball when I take it out.”
Comment section: The perfect setup (thank you, Grant Hill)
Comment section: IYKYK (Explanation, Original video)
Comment section: Technically six future NBA players, but who’s counting
Comment section: A story for the ages
Comment section: On the reaction from the Villanova students
Comment section: Pete Carroll is still catching strays…
One Shining Moment
You can’t show one of the best college basketball moments ever without acknowledging the One Shining Moment that followed.