It was Kris. “Not everybody believed,” Hagan said. Williams had a sinking feeling when Jenkins took the final shot. They apologized; Sabrina said they were just being emotional, not tactical. This year, parity had been the theme in men's college basketball. Next play.” It did not need to be drawn up. The win is Villanova's second championship in program history, the first coming in 1985. Arcidiacono’s actual parents, Joe and Patti, met as Villanova students in the late 1970s. The University's Graphic Services printed and distributed posters to support the team at the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship games during 'Marching Madness.' Wright asked a team staffer to take and tweet out a photo of Ochefu and Arch simultaneously bussing the logo, and when the coach was asked about it a few hours later, at the team’s Houston-departure pep rally, a rare crack appeared in his steady-cool demeanor. "When the shot went up, I saw Kris shoot it, his follow-through looked great," Williams said. Villanova fans, you can buy this week’s magazine here, and our special Villanova commemorative issue here. And although Hassan had once been a basketball player—he attended the University of Derby, in England, and played two seasons of pro ball in the early 1980s for Team Discounter Derby, earning a few hundred pounds per week plus lodging and a bus pass—Daniel began playing far more soccer in Lagos than hoops. Within the Wildcats’ program, the most-used phrase is not Guard U, Forward U or any of its hybrids. In fact, Villanova slow-played it, Florida’s Billy Donovan recruited Arcidiacono harder, Arcidiacono took a visit to Gainesville in October of his junior year, and the day he returned, he sat in his family’s living room in Langhorne, Pa., and nervously informed the two most important women in his life—Patti and Sabrina, who was about to make him an uncle—that he really, really liked Florida. VILLANOVA WILDCATS (Kris Jenkins) 2016 NCAA FINAL FOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS (Greatest Game Ever Played) Replica College Basketball Silver Championship Ring with Cherrywood Display Box. It was not a good feeling.". They finished the season 32–4, 15–3 in Big East play to win the regular season championship. Brady said on a recent episode of 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' that he avoids talking about retirement with wife Gisele Bünchen. Junior forward Kris Jenkins hit a three at the buzzer, and No. “We always expected a game to come along where we wouldn’t have our best offense,” he told them, and this had been it: ’Nova could not overcome shooting 31.1% from the field. This had worked for Villanova in the final seconds of the 2009 Elite Eight, with point guard Scottie Reynolds sinking a layup to beat Pittsburgh. But ’Nova ran Nova, Arcidiacono made his read and Jenkins let fly with half a second left and one thought in mind: “Ball game.” The buzzer went off. "It's a great honor to be in that class with the '85 team," Arcidiacono said. I love this team.". It's also the first championship for head coach Jay Wright, his first appearance in a national title game. Here is the case for—and the case against—the 'Cats. Carolina came back, drawing even with what seemed destined to be the shot of the tournament. Stay up to date with the winner of every men's conference basketball tournament in 2021. Behind his designer shades, the 54-year-old Wright was tearing up over the thought of his final days with the bookends of his starting lineup. Apr 2 (Neutral), Villanova (34-5) Win vs. Oklahoma, 95-51; 40. Please make it stop. The official 2016 Football schedule for the Villanova University Wildcats. What if this really happens and he’s never home? Throughout the season, there wasn't one dominant team. Photos by CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer The stage was quickly erected on the court after the game and the players climbed the steps and waved to the crowd. The Wildcats dialed back their long-range shooting volume in the NCAAs, taking 14 of their 48 attempts from deep in the title game, but the shot they’ll forever be remembered for is Jenkins’s three. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers. "I think every shot is going in," Jenkins said. Relive every moment of the 2016 National Championship with the DVD and Blu-ray. After the big win, Graphics Services created this poster which could be seen along the parade route, Friday, April 8, 2016! A number of injuries were reported: Thirty-seven people were treated at an area triage center; seven people were also transported to a local hospital. And after they fumbled away their 10-point lead, and after North Carolina’s final possession, when Ochefu gambled for a steal on the left wing, leaving Paige open, and Arcidiacono flew by him and forced him to double-pump to no avail, the Wildcats did not consider the possibility that they were headed to overtime. With arguably the greatest tournament performance and championship finish, the Villanova Wildcats claim their second National Championship. 0 of 8. The shooters space the floor and cut through the wide-open lane when Ochefu posts up, preventing defenses from doubling him down low. As for that final play, Arcidiacono said that's one that they work on every single day at practice. UNC is now 5-2 against the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament. “He takes care of everything.” Arcidiacono is the player that Wright, a former Bucknell guard, wanted to be, and other Wildcats are so aware of this that they jokingly refer to Arcidiacono as Wright’s son. Villanova University Alumni Association Announces 2016 St. Thomas of Villanova Alumni Medal Recipients. Reuben was there as a reporter, Sean was there as a fan. It was Attitude that carried those horses through Monday night’s final. This story originally appeared in the April 11, 2016, edition of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. With free throws, Booth extended the lead to 67-57 with 5:29 left. 77–74, Wildcats. Flanagan says one person was also cited for criminal mischief. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 77 - 74 to win the 2016 NCAA men's basketball national championship. Villanova National Championship Team Honored at The White House. 1 this season. Mount St. Mary's. They discussed what they could do to avoid running aground again. 8 North Carolina State in the second round. ’Nova’s third straight early exit from the tournament had been its most devastating of all—a 71–68 loss as a No. The Wildcats won their first national championship in since 1985, which is the second-longest drought between titles. 8–seeded Wildcats shot 78.6% to pull off a seismic upset of Georgetown that’s still referred to as the Perfect Game. Villanova’s total number of points through five NCAA tournament games in 2016: 424. "Our teammates, we just fought," Arcidiacono said. All Rights Reserved. “And Arch,” Jenkins said, “always makes the right decision.”, Two Shining Moments: Jenkins one-ups Paige in alltime classic. 1 seed North Carolina, 77-74, at NRG Stadium in Houston. “He didn’t look like he was horsing around.”. This time Villanova, the No. This”—as in, the limited basketball development Ochefu was getting—“is not enough, and unlike these other kids, [Daniel] doesn’t even need a visa to go to the U.S.”, Ochefu was back in the States for his freshman year of high school, and he soon got on Villanova’s radar due to his high offensive IQ. He awkwardly reentered the living room. If the outcome had been different, if Jenkins had slept in the street, this still might have been a legendary final. “They always forget about the inbounder,” Arcidiacono said after the game. Villanova Wildcats em>Reuben Frank and Sean Kane both chose the 2016 national championship game between Villanova and North Carolina as the greatest game they ever saw in person. Catch up on all the latest news and rumors around the NFL. It was as if these back-to-back clips from the vault stirred up magic in the building, and a long glance around the periphery of the court revealed a surprising number of characters from those classics: There was Jordan, a few rows behind the Tar Heels’ bench; Big John Thompson Jr., the Hoyas’ coach in ’82 and ’85, courtside calling the game for Westwood One radio; Rollie Massimino, ’Nova’s coach in ’85, sitting behind the Wildcats’ bench; and nine players from that team, including Most Outstanding Player Ed Pinckney, sitting in section 109. It was, all at once, a testament to small ball, to team ball and to the ongoing revolution of the three-ball. He had arrived at school weighing around 280 pounds; it had taken him three years of work to mold himself into a 240-pound power forward who could also roam the perimeter. On the morning of March 30, Villanova held its final workout of the season at the Davis Center, its practice facility. Only 2.6% had Villanova, but one of those was the most famous man in the building on Final Four Saturday. To relive the magic, I virtually sat down with members of the 2016 Villanova championship team, including head coach Jay Wright, Phil Booth and Darryl Reynolds. But in the second half, Villanova (35-5) grabbed the lead with a three from sophomore guard Phil Booth to make it 49-46 with 12:46 remaining. What’s life going to be like without Ryan around? Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham, Iowa's Luka Garza and three Gonzaga players were among the names on the ballot. Villanova teammates celebrate after winning the 2015-16 national title. I can’t talk about it,” Wright said, stumbling. That night Villanova delivered the most efficient offensive performance of the tournament, scoring 1.57 points per possession in a rout of Miami that grew so large—23 points by the end—that the walk-ons received playing time. After Arcidiacono drove off the Ochefu screen, the point guard shoveled the ball to Jenkins (for an assist tally) and then obstructed Berry and Hicks from closing out on the shooter (a screen-assist tally). That was an attitude play. The Wildcats are addicted to pressure and ready for a repeat — but first it was time to party and celebrate the 2016 national championship. He then turned his back to the basket and pitched the ball to a wide-open Jenkins. The ball went in. The Tar Heels had entered the game No. Jenkins did not earn a tally for his three. Said senior Denzel Mahoney:“What Coach Mac said hurt me and my teammates.". The Wildcats ate their postgame meal and listened to coach Jay Wright say, “Inside this program, we won’t let this define us”—but everyone knew that everywhere else, it would: An 82–22 record over the past three seasons would be obscured by the Wildcats’ reputation as First Weekend Floppers. May 31. The official 2016-17 Men's Basketball schedule for the Villanova University Wildcats. That made him the perfect triggerman in this situation, because there was no time to hesitate. It turned out he was in the kitchen, overhearing everything. Jan Blachowicz (28-8) became the first fighter to defeat Israel Adesanya (20-1) in mixed martial arts at UFC 259 to retain the light heavyweight championship. “It’s amazing—he is me,” Wright said after his team’s second-round win over Iowa, discussing how little he has to instruct Arcidiacono and how much coaching Arcidiacono does unprompted. Arcidiacono dropped one following the Kansas win, keeping the streak alive, and Hart delivered the extended cut (“playing Villanova Basketball for 40 minutes”) after scoring a game-high 23 points in the Oklahoma blowout. 1 Georgetown 66-64. Get all of Luke Winn’s columns as soon as they’re published. Monday's game marked the 33rd anniversary of that 1983 championship game. 2 seed in the South region, was tied at 74 in the final seconds of the national title game against the East region's top seed North Carolina, the ball was in his hands, and a voice was screaming behind him. But Arcidiacono engaged two defenders—his man, Joel Berry II, and 6' 9" Isaiah Hicks, who was guarding Jenkins—and dribbled diagonally right across the top of the key. There was another type of history associated with this year's men's national championship game. A few blocks away the Allegheny, which begins in Pennsylvania and detours through New York, joins the Monongahela to form the Ohio River. It is Villanova Basketball, an all-encompassing term for the team’s ethos that, to an outsider, is used to an almost comic degree. He started 144 games and has been a captain since January of his freshman year. Just 0.6 of a second was left as he released his righthanded jumper. The last option was Jenkins, the trail man and the voice. “This tournament isn’t about finding out the best team,” he said after beating the Sooners. His reward was getting to pick the song that played over their film-review session of Attitude plays on the day before the Cats faced North Carolina. 106, no. “I almost jumped on the court,” he said after he’d been helped up onto the floor by a friend to watch “One Shining Moment” play on the big screens. We made remarkable plays at the end of the game. Reynolds did some deep thinking, and the song he chose was Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.”, The dog days are overThe dog days are doneCan’t you hear the horses?’Cause here they come. When Jenkins entered the locker room after the game, the team was in mid-prayer. And then Ochefu, aka the Attitude King for having the most wins on the season, made a nontraditional demand. No. The main game broadcast is on TBS, which like CNN, is a Time Warner company. "I wanted to be aggressive," Arcidiacono said. But they did ask him to keep an open mind about Villanova. Vice President Joe Biden, a Syracuse law school grad whose wife, Jill, received a master’s from Villanova, told SI after the Wildcats’ rout, “I had Villanova winning it all in my bracket, so I am doing quite well right now.” His boss had Kansas beating ’Nova in the Elite Eight. 2016 Memorabilia Villanova vs. North Carolina 2016 NCAA basketball championship final score: Wildcats win 77-74 on Kris Jenkins' 3-pointer The national championship … Villanova Basketball is a dead-serious thing to the Wildcats, who define it as the sum total of the 12 categories that go into their charting of Attitude. All were in agreement that it was vital for their defense to fuel their attack, and not the other way around. © 2021 ABG-SI LLC. The loss denied head coach Roy Williams from winning a third national title and the Tar Heels from winning their sixth in program history. Six teams -- including UNC and Villanova -- have been ranked No. . No. That first one was magical: In 1985, the first time the NCAA tournament had expanded to 64 teams, Villanova, coached by Rollie Massimino and seeded 8th, shot 78.6% from the field -- still an NCAA championship record -- and defeated No. Eight Villanova fans were arrested during celebrations following the game, according to Lt. Chris Flanagan with the Radnor, Pennsylvania, police department. 35. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Villanova Wildcats sink buzzer beater to claim NCAA title. During a media timeout with 11:54 left in the second half and ’Nova up 49–46, the stadium video boards showed highlights from two classic title games: 1982, when North Carolina’s Michael Jordan hit the game-winning jumper against Georgetown, and then ’85, when the No. He finished 4-of-7 from three-point range. This marks the largest gift ever to Villanova Athletics and propels the University forward, adding to the excitement and momentum generated from winning the 2016 National Championship. One year and eight days later, on a raised court in a dome in Houston, a play was once again developing behind Arcidiacono’s back. “And faith is believing before you see, when your ship is on the horizon and you don’t know what’s on the other side.”. "I pretty much knew it was going in. “Arch,” Ochefu said to his point guard. That's college basketball.". Philadelphia Threedom: How Villanova became the national champion Villanova's finished season ended with Kris Jenkins's miracle shot and a national title, but it was composed of so much more. Kansas announced they've placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave and will conduct its own investigation. On the off day prior to facing North Carolina in the final, Arcidiacono rained three Villanova Basketballs on the press conference, and freshman guard Mikal Bridges, clearly learning from his elders, used it three times in one three-minute span of locker-room questioning. Villanova also became the first team to win the national championship game on a buzzer-beater since N.C. State defeated Houston 54-52 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1983. The Villanovan, Vol. Senior guard Marcus Paige’s twisting, leaning trey with 4.7 seconds not only tied the game at 74 but also earned Jenkins’s respect. Hart’s chase-down block of Justin Jackson with nine seconds left in the first half, which was converted into a Booth jumper going into the break and kept the game close, 39–34? Booth, who started the night on the bench, finished with a career-high 20 points to lead Villanova. “The V!” Ochefu said, pointing to the white-and-blue logo at half-court. Mar 20 (Neutral), Villanova (31-5) Win vs. Iowa, 87-68; 37. The official 2016-17 Men's Basketball schedule for the Villanova University Wildcats ... NCAA Tournament Mar 16 (Thu) 7:10 PM . Arcidiacono vowed to do a better job of leading when the offense was stagnant and the Wildcats were facing a more athletic team. Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater wins NCAA championship, Villanova beats UNC 77-74 on a buzzer-beater from junior forward Kris Jenkins, It's Villanova's second national championship, Villanova senior Ryan Arcidiacono is named Most Outstanding Player. For Villanova, March 21, 2015, was a hard night in a hotel across a boulevard from the Allegheny River. Frankford Hall is no sports bar, but it does have a few TVs, and as the Elite Eight thriller between then unbeaten Kentucky and Notre Dame approached its denouement, nearly everyone in the place was watching—except Arcidiacono. After he and Jenkins outplayed Kansas forwards Perry Ellis and Landen Lucas, Ochefu sat in his locker, with the regional-title net around his neck, and tried to get his point guard’s attention. They took the highest percentage of their shots as threes (42.7) on the season; only one other title team, Duke in 2001, had a rate higher than 40%, and the average for all champs since the line went into effect in ’87 is 27.1%. The 2015–16 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.Led by the school's 8th head coach Jay Wright in his 15th year, the Wildcats were members of the Big East Conference and played most of their home games at The Pavilion, with some select home games at the Wells Fargo Center. When Daniel was a 6' 8" 13-year-old, he attended the Big Man Camp in Lagos that was organized by Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian who’s now the general manager of the Raptors. It was helpless. Villanova’s total number of points through five NCAA tournament games in 2018: 424. Mar 24 (Neutral), Villanova (32-5) Win vs. Miami (FL), 92-69; 38. The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Who could have expected that they would shoot 71.4% from the field? It's the first buzzer-beater on a three-pointer in national championship history. "Ryan Arcidiacono, he's one of the best players I've ever played with," Jenkins said. The second option was sophomore guard Phil Booth, coming off a screen in the corner. David J. Phillip/Associated Press. By BrendanJReilly @BrendanReilly37 Apr 5, 2016, 9:00am EDT “But we’ve had some big men that are successful, and I know what to do with [Daniel] if I get him.”. getting better and better defensively as we play in the tournament.”. 2016 NCAA tournament Final Four preview: Villanova Wildcats Will Villanova advance to the national title game on Monday? 2 seed Villanova won the NCAA men’s basketball national championship in thrilling fashion over No. “The forward is definitely in there now.”. Updated 1422 GMT (2222 HKT) April 5, 2016. It was something that Wright said his team couldn’t have done a month earlier, but that no longer mattered. Mar 18 (Neutral), Villanova (30-5) Win vs. North Carolina-Asheville, 86-56; 36. But Josh Hart sunk two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 74-71, setting up a frantic finish. Ryan and Wright played for rival Bucks County high schools, 30 miles north of Central Philly, three decades apart. This just isn’t us, senior walk-on Kevin Rafferty thought as the tape rolled. Mar 26 (Neutral), Villanova (33-5) Win vs. Kansas, 64-59; 39. Joe was an offensive lineman on the football team; Patti lived on the same freshman-year hall as Wright’s eventual wife, Patricia. When Daniel was 11, Hassan told his four children he had made a decision: “I want you to understand what our background really is. Villanova won its second national championship in 2016, edging North Carolina on a 3-pointer from Kris Jenkins as time expired. I know I completely lost my mind.” So did the 81-year-old Massimino. It's the first time it was on cable television. “We should be playing in a game like this.”. Senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who set up Jenkins for the game-winner, was named Most Outstanding Player. “What are you talking about?” Arcidiacono said. When Ryan attended one of Wright’s Villanova camps as a seventh-grader, the coach pulled him aside at the end of it and said, “Your parents bled blue and white, and so will you someday.”, When Arcidiacono was out in the Pavilion’s parking lot, he asked Joe, “Dad, do you think [Wright]’s being serious?”, “I think he is,” Joe said. Rev. But I heard someone screaming in the back of my head. “It’s about finding out who’s playing the hottest at this time. Five years after that he has become the winningest player in school history, with 117 victories. 1 Jalen Brunson of the Villanova Wildcats shoots the ball in the first half against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2016 NCAA Men's National Championship game on Monday in Houston. National Championship Game In addition to Paige's output, sophomore guard Joel Berry II had 20 points, while senior forward Brice Johnson had 14. Collectively they looked on as the 2016 versions of Villanova and North Carolina trumped their title-game finishes. “And I have no idea what I said at the end. 1 in offensive efficiency but, like Oklahoma, Kansas and Miami before them, had been thrown completely out of rhythm by the Wildcats’ mix of switching man-to-man, 1-2-2 press and 2–3 zone. These are but a few examples: After an 86–56 win over UNC-Asheville in round 1, Ochefu responded to a question about being more active in the second half by saying, “I eliminated everything in my mind and just started worrying about playing Villanova Basketball.” Following the team’s 87–68 victory over Iowa in round 2, Jenkins said, “Our seniors did a great job in leading us and making sure that we stayed on top of playing Villanova Basketball for 40 minutes.” In Louisville, before the Wildcats’ defeat of Miami, junior guard Josh Hart—unofficially, the most frequent offender—said it four times over the course of three questions. Of the 13 million people who filled out brackets on ESPN.com, the most popular national-champion picks were Kansas (25.0%), Michigan State (22.3%) and North Carolina (14.6%). Nova’s first option was Arch himself, driving off 6' 11" senior forward Daniel Ochefu’s screen at midcourt. Obama may be the Hoops President, but Biden schooled him in bracket forecasting. Jenkins rainbow shot turned to gold as the final buzzer sounded and Villanova (35-5) celebrated its way into the record books with a 77-74 win against the Tar Heels (33-7) at NRG Stadium in Houston. The game was played on Monday, April 4, 2016, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, between the Villanova Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels. "If I could get a shot, I was going to shoot it. Wow. Graduate assistant Ryan Harkins kept his traditional chart of Attitude plays, tallying them in pencil. In the Big East Tournament, they defeated St. Jo… Wright eventually joined them for a conversation that was part postmortem, part seed planting for 2015–16. What if my kids barely ever get to see him play? May 27. For more stories, video and live game feeds from the men's semifinals and finals go to cnn.com/marchmadness. The last 90 seconds of this incredible game, will be remembered as the best national championship ever. On Daniel’s recruiting visit to the school, which was known as Guard U for producing pros such as Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye, Hassan said to Wright, “I hear this is a guard school.”, “This is known as a guard school,” Wright said. Villanova used one player taller than 6' 8", and played most of its minutes with the 6' 6" Jenkins at the four. Jenkins, who finished the night with 16 points, snuffed out UNC's hopes of a sixth championship with a dagger as the horn sounded. In other words, never second-guess an open look and never worry about the outcome. It was junior Kris Jenkins, the inbounder on a play the Wildcats call Nova—one they saved for a last-second situation, in a game they’d forever longed to be playing in, a game that may go down as the greatest NCAA final of all time.

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