North Carolina Tar Heels: Starting to Defy Description

The North Carolina Tar Heels get one more game after a victory over the Oregon Ducks in Glendale, Arizona.

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Oregon Ducks 77-76 in order to return to the National Championship Game to face Gonzaga. It will be the second straight appearance of the Tar Heels on the final night of college basketball. Last year they lost on the final shot to Villanova. Now they will face another Catholic program from outside the Power 5.

When you win a game by a single point, every moment becomes decisive. Joel Berry’s two flat three point field goals were worth six points. Theo Pinson’s first three point jumper of the tournament was worth three points. Nate Britt had a three pointer and a single driving layup. Those were worth five.

Yet this game was another edition in the series of ‘how can we escape this week?’ Whether it is spotting Arkansas five points in the second half or having Malik Monk make a game tying three with a second to go, the Tar Heels have been redefining the phrase ‘skin of your teeth.’ This game was no different, with the team missing four free throws and surviving because of two offensive rebounds. But we’ll return to those later.

This kind of trajectory looks perilous, but I have seen it done once before. The 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes went undefeated in football in a series of near misses, ultimately resulting in a national title game that was decided in double overtime.

Closer to home, the 2005 Tar Heels almost saw their run end against Villanova. The 1957 Tar Heels had to play triple-overtime twice to win the title. The second time they did not have star Lennie Rosenbluth for the overtimes. It sure doesn’t make it easy on the rest of us, although Carolina Panthers fans would be kind of familiar with it.