GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It’s OK, Carolina, you can open your eyes.
An unwatchable game turned into a beautiful night for the Tar Heels, who turned a free-throw contest into a championship they’ve been waiting an entire year to celebrate.
Justin Jackson delivered the go-ahead 3-point play with 1:40 left Monday and North Carolina pulled away for a 71-65 win over Gonzaga that washed away a year’s worth of heartache.
It was, in North Carolina’s words, a redemption tour — filled with extra time on the practice court and the weight room, all fueled by a devastating loss in last year’s title game on Kris Jenkins’ 3-point dagger at the buzzer for Villanova.
Most of Roy Williams’ players returned for another run. To say everything went right for them at this Final Four would not be the truth.
The Tar Heels followed a terrible-shooting night in the semifinal with an equally ice-cold performance in the final — going 4 for 27 from 3-point land.
Gonzaga, helped by 8 straight points from Nigel Williams-Goss, took a 2-point lead with 1:52 left, but the next possession was the game-changer.
Jackson took a zinger of a pass under the basket from Theo Pinson and converted the shot, then the ensuing free throw to take the lead for good. Moments later, Goss-Williams twisted his ankle and could not elevate for a jumper that would’ve given the Bulldogs the lead.
Isaiah Hicks made a basket to push the lead to 3, then Kennedy Meeks, in foul trouble all night, blocked Williams-Goss’ shot and Jackson got a slam on the other end to put some icing on title No. 6 for the Tar Heels (33-7).
Joel Berry II recovered from ankle injuries to lead the Tar Heels with 22 points on 7-for-19 shooting. Jackson had 16 on a 6-for-19 night and, overall, the Tar Heels shot 35.6 percent for the game, to go with 36 percent shooting in Saturday night’s win over Oregon.
As much as the North Carolina win, however, this game will be remembered for these three men: Michael Stephens, Verne Harris and Mike Eades, the referees who called 27 fouls in the second half, completely busted up the flow of the game and sent Meeks, Gonzaga’s 7-footers Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins and a host of others to the bench in foul trouble.
With 8:02 left, Berry got called for a foul for (maybe) making contact with Karnowski and stripping the ball from the big man’s hands. But as Karnowski was flailing after the ball, he grabbed Berry around the neck and, after a long delay, got called for a flagrant foul of his own.
That resulted in four straight free throws, a 52-all tie and booing from every corner of the massive Phoenix University Stadium.
North Carolina forward Theo Pinson, right celebrates with teammate Joel Berry II, left, at the end of the championship game at the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. North Carolina 71-65. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
North Carolina’s Isaiah Hicks (4) takes a shot over Gonzaga’s Zach Collins (32) during the first half in the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Steppig, Pool)
