On April 4, 2016, the NCAA championship game was played against Villanova and North Carolina, where Villanova won 77-74 in a game that will go down in championship history. With a No.2 seed beating a No.1 seed in a championship game, it is bound to make history. There are a few reasons why Villanova secured the win, but here are my top four reasons why I believe the Wildcats triumphed over the Tar Heels.
1. Beat No.1 seed Kansas And Blew Out Oklahoma
Once Villanova beat Kansas, I knew the Wildcats were a team to look out for in the upcoming games of the tournament. Since their win against Kansas, the Wildcats have been dominant on the court. Granted, during the tournament they have won their games in blowouts, but the toughest match-up they faced was Kansas, where they pulled through to get the win. No one predicted for the Wildcats to upset Kansas but they did, giving Villanova the momentum they needed to take out No. 2 seed Oklahoma in the biggest blowout in NCAA tournament history. Oklahoma didn’t stand a chance with Villanova’s 71 percent shooting against the Sooners' 31 percent, leading the Wildcats to a 95-51 victory.
2. D-D-D Defense
“Defense wins games” is a phase all athletes live by and has proven to be true on a number of occasions. In particular, defense led the Villanova Wildcats to their first championship in over 25 years. The Wildcats’ put ball pressure on the Tar Heels, forcing them to shoot outside shots rather than going into the paint. Villanova was likewise able to stop the “Big Men” from North Carolina: Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Isiah Hicks and Joel James, who only scored a combined 22 points. In their previous game, they scored for a combined 41 points. You do the math.
3. Offense From Phil Booth
The Wildcats’ offense was consist throughout the championship game, but their offense stood out even more when it came to the last few minutes of the game. Villanova and North Carolina went back-and-forth with their shooting, but Villanova eventually obtained a strong lead that impacted how the game ended. Wildcats’ guard Phil Booth, who scored 20 points in game, was one of the main reasons why Villanova won the championship game. Booth’s jump shoot gave Villanova a 69-64 lead over North Carolina, eventually giving them a six point lead involving a free throw from Josh Hart, with 1:52 minutes left in the game.
4. Kris Jenkins' Buzzer-Beater
Who doesn’t love buzzer-beaters, especially when it’s the last play of the game? That is actually what happened during the championship game when the Wildcats’ Kris Jenkins made a 3-point shot, winning the game for Villanova. With 4.2 seconds left on the clock, the game was tied and predicted to go into overtime, until Kris Jenkins made a clutch 3 pointer to win the game for Villanova - making it their first win in the NCAA championship since 1985. Villanova had nothing to lose in those final seconds of the game. If he had missed, oh well, they could try to win it in overtime, but according to Jenkins, that wasn’t his intention. He knew for a fact the ball was going to go in with him quoting “I think every shot is going to go in and this one was no different,” and it certainly went in.
