Villanova Wins NCAA Championship at the Buzzer

Villanova clinched the NCAA Championship in the final seconds of their game against North Carolina with a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded. The game ended with the Wildcats beating the Tar Heels 77-74.

The Wildcats followed a routine they call Nova. With the game tied and 4.7 seconds left, Villanova senior Ryan Arcidiacono raced toward the basket and passed the ball backward to Kris Jenkins, who made a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded.

The Nova play calls on Arcidiacono to make one of three decisions in the final five seconds of the game. He can drive forward and take a shot himself, pass the ball to the wing, or pass to Jenkins, who trails behind him. The players practice the last-minute move every day.

The buzzer-beating shot delivered the Wildcats their first NCAA Championship win in 31 years in front of a crowd of 74,340. It was the first winning shot at the buzzer in an NCAA title game since Lorenzo Charles dunked for North Carolina State in 1983. It was the first title game to be won with a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

Arcidiacono was named the most outstanding player in the Final Four. He scored 16 points in the championship game. Phil Booth scored a team-high 20 points for Villanova, and Marcus Paige of the Tar Heels earned a game-high 21 points.

When Arcidiacono arrived at Villanova as a freshman four years ago, the team was coming off a 13-19 season in which they ranked 14th in the Big East. He and other members of the freshman class wanted to restore Villanova to its previous level of success. The team had not been to the Final Four since 2009.

In this year’s NCAA tournament, there were no teams clearly dominating the competition. In the opening weekend, there were 13 first-round upsets, and 10 teams with double-digit seeds won their games. North Carolina was the top seed in the East Region, and Villanova was the second seed for the South Region. They upset Kansas, the top seed, to reach the Final Four. North Carolina was trying for its sixth NCAA championship and the third for Coach Roy Williams.

The NCAA tournament is over, but many other exciting sports events are coming up. Capital City Tickets has tickets to see your favorite teams compete across the country. Look for tickets to upcoming baseball, football, and soccer games.