Daniel Ochefu
In arguably the wildest 96 seconds of college basketball ever, Jay Wright remained as calm, cool and collected as ever. So did his players, up until Kris Jenkins buzzer-beating shot went down with a bang. That mild-mannered persona is exactly what Villanova showed in the final seconds with a perfect play proving to be the Wright stuff.
It is the shot that will define Villanova basketball forever. Kris Jenkins with the long-range three-pointer at the buzzer to win the National Championship — well, shots don’t get any bigger than that. The play that led to Jenkins heroics was brilliantly designed and executed to perfection. Break down of the shot and two plays that made it possible.
Villanova played the way a Philly team should on a national scale in one of the biggest games of the year in all of sports. That kind of scrappiness and grit is what makes a team memorable and lovable, particularly in the city the exudes those qualities.
Kris Jenkins capped a tremendous game with a three-point, buzzer-beating shot to win the National Championship for the Villanova Wildcats in a 77-74 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night at NRG Stadium in Houston.
One game will decide the National Champion in Division I college basketball this season. Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels take on Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats. Tip off between these two schools with long-standing histories begins at 9:19 p.m.
Every now and then, and it is rare, a basketball team turns in a performance like Villanova did on Saturday night, the kind where there are almost no words to describe it. Against Miami, Kansas and Oklahoma, the Wildcats held their own and then some, leading with defense first. That system has Jay Wright’s team playing like a well-oiled machine.
A 71.4 percent shooting clip helped propel the Villanova Wildcats into the National Championship game on Monday night as they rolled to a 95-51 win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The Villanova Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners meet for the second time this season, this time with a trip to the NCAA Division I National Championship on the line. Tip off from Houston is set for 6:09 p.m.
The Villanova Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2009 looking to channel the will of the 1985 team that came away with a championship. But before moving forward with Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma Sooners, here is how the Wildcats got to Houston.
