The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 71-65 to win their sixth National Championship last Monday evening. This, coming one year after a heartbreaking loss to Villanova in the Finals, was vindication for North Carolina. This game concluded what was yet another very entertaining and awe-inspiring March Madness season filled with upsets, letdowns, and memorable moments. One might not consider the final game to be as good as the rest of the tournament, but it was certainly a memorable night for North Carolina fans. It was a historic evening for college basketball.

 

Not much was good about this game, apart from the free throw shooting, and its first half intensity. Neither side managed to shoot above 36% from the field, with UNC shooting a miserable 4 for 27 from 3-point range. The Dogs managed to take a 35-32 lead into halftime after a well-played first half, but things only got uglier from there. That is when this game turned into what was largely a free throw shooting contest. Most the 44 total fouls called in this game came in the second half, which restricted the intensity of the game and the efforts of players like Kennedy Meeks and Johnathon Williams. With less than two minutes left, Gonzaga led 65-63. UNC then went on an 8-0 run, led by Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II, to defeat Gonzaga by six.

 

Joel Berry II was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament; he averaged 16 points in the final five tournament games and lead UNC with 22 points and six assists in the finals. Justin Jackson and Isiah Hicks each delivered double digit points in the win. Many Gonzaga players had disappointing games, especially Przemek Karnowski, who, despite collecting nine rebounds, only scored nine points on 1 of 7 from the field. Nigel Williams-Goss led the Dogs with 15 points.

 

The Bulldogs had one of the greatest, probably the greatest, season in program history. Under the leadership of players like Nigel Williams-Goss and Przemek Karnowski, the Dogs compiled 37 total wins, with their only regular season loss coming at the hands of BYU late in the year. Very few expected this team to get to the Final Four, let alone the Championship game, considering their tournament history. Taking his team to the NCAA Tournament for the 18th consecutive year, Mark Few further proved his excellence as a head basketball coach by taking his team to their first ever Final Four and Championship appearance. He and the Dogs just happened to run into a well-established Division 1 program and Hall of Fame head coach in UNC and Roy Williams.

Roy Williams expanded his impact and legacy in the game of basketball with his third National Championship. The 66-year-old Hall of Famer previously collected his two other titles in 2005 and 2009 for UNC, making a total of nine Final Fours in the process, the fourth most all-time. He tied Jim Calhoun and Bob Knight for the fourth most National Championships of all-time, bringing his NCAA Tournament win total to 76, second only to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Needless to say, Roy Williams has had about as great of an impact on the legacy of college basketball as coaches like John Wooden or Bob Knight, and his accomplishments in the game are matched by a select few. For that, he is likely going to be recognized as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time and certainly one of the best of this generation.