It just wasn’t quite enough, and the Heels didn’t have anything left.
North Carolina lost the National Championship 72-69 against the Kansas Jayhawks. KU has ended North Carolina’s chances at a national title multiple times now, and they did so coming back from the largest overcome deficit in National Championship history.
16 points seems low for that to be a record, but it hurts all the same.
In fact, the Heels experienced plenty of hurt all around. Brady Manek got drilled in the face not long after the opening tip, Caleb Love twisted his ankle and limped during dead ball periods, and Puff Johnson borderline threw up on the floor after getting hit in the stomach.
This was all after Armando Bacot did everything he could to just play in this game… (audio)
He would go down a couple times due to the pain.
It’s amazing North Carolina only lost by 3, let alone even having a 16 point lead. They missed 50 shots total in this game. The trio of Bacot, Davis, and Love accounted for 41 of those misses.
Even out rebounding Kansas by 20 wasn’t enough to count for all the missed shots and injuries North Carolina accumulated.
Kansas also just became dogs in the 2nd half. Remy Martin got drunk off of clutch 3’s and the Jayhawks scored 31 contested points just in the 2nd half.
Hubert Davis had a particular message for his team after the game…(audio)
I don’t know if Carolina can ever be considered a Cinderella, probably not, but the shoe seemed to fit during their run that started with a landmark win against Coach K for the last time in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Championship or not, the first team coached by Hubert Davis will go down as one of the most beloved in Carolina history.
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