North Carolina Tops Gonzaga In Messy NCAA Championship

Monday night's national title game was expected to be a fast-paced, competitive showcase for North Carolina forward Justin Jackson and Gonzaga point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, two of the best players in college this season.

It was certainly competitive, but with both teams' tough defenses locking up the main offensive options, the game turned into a foul-laden slog rather than a shootout. The Tar Heels were able to pin their opponent in the end, 71-65, winning the school's sixth national title.

Fittingly it was consecutive turnovers by Gonzaga in the final minute that put the game away.

With Jackson struggling — he shot 6-19 and missed nine three-pointers — senior point guard Joel Berry II stepped up, scoring 22 and hitting the team's only four three-point shots. Forward Isaiah Hicks added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Gonzaga, hampered by both Williams-Goss' 5-17 shooting and serious front-line foul trouble — wonder freshman Zach Collins fouled out with more than five minutes to go — the Bulldogs get an unexpected contribution from guard Josh Perkins, who scored 13 (all in the first half) after averaging five points in his earlier five tourney games.

For North Carolina, it was a title to make up for a near-miss against Villanova in 2016, in which the Wildcats answered a last-second prayer with one of their own to win.

For most of the first half of Monday's game, Gonzaga seemed to be playing to their strengths — and North Carolina's. The country's best defensive team wasn't just cutting off the Tar Heels' fast break and forcing them into bad shots, they were also grabbing more rebounds than one of the best rebounding teams in the country. North Carolina had lost all three games in which they were out-rebounded this season.

But in the last four minutes of the half, North Carolina evened out both the rebound margin and the score, cutting Gonzaga's game-high seven-point lead to three at the half. Good three-point shooting by the Bulldogs (5-9, vs. 2-12 for the Tar Heels) helped give them the lead, but turnovers kept them from getting away.

As halftime ended, North Carolina coach Roy Williams said his players weren't moving enough on offense, and were settling for the shots Gonzaga wanted them to take.

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.