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2016 NCAA Championship: Twitter Reacts to Final Seconds of Villanova vs. UNC
April 5, 2016
Villanova Wildcats star Kris Jenkins hit the shot of a lifetime during Monday's national championship game in Houston against the North Carolina Tar Heels to give his team a 77-74 victory:
Naturally, social media was quick to react to the incredible shot that came mere seconds after Marcus Paige tied the game on the other end with a three-pointer of his own:
The victory gave the Wildcats the 2016 national title:
It was the tensest of moments, but Villanova coach Jay Wright was his usual calm self after the win:
Andy Glockner of The Cauldron provided an X's-and-O's breakdown of the winner:
Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group had a worthwhile idea:
Nicole Auerbach of USA Today reacted the same way many of the fans did in the building:
Adam Hoge of WGN Radio had a similar takeaway:
As did Amara Baptist of Fox Sports:
Holly MacKenzie of Vice Sports described the emotional roller coaster of the end of Monday's contest:
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com referred to broadcaster Bill Raftery's famous call of "Onions!" after the shot:
Lloyd Ribner III was ready to put the shot into the historical archives of college basketball:
Jay Williams of ESPN echoed similar sentiments:
Villanova fans will surely see it as one of those greatest moments given their celebrations, via Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia:
The celebration carried over to campus, as Patrick Shatkus passed along:
Those in attendance had their own euphoria, per Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports:
Chris Fowler of ESPN witnessed things from North Carolina's perspective:
The disappointment for those Tar Heels fans was probably even harder to deal with because Paige had just drilled his own unreal shot on the other end. While Jenkins' game-winner will overshadow it in the college basketball history books, Ryan Fagan of Sporting News couldn't believe the level of difficulty:
It was yet another great moment for Paige in this tournament:
Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star also brought in Raftery's call after Paige's shot:
One famous former North Carolina Tar Heel was pleased, per Albert Breer of NFL Network:
Mike Prada of SB Nation reacted to Michael Jordan's celebration:
Alas, because of Jenkins, the celebration didn't last long. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times compared it to the Seattle Seahawks' loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX even after Jermaine Kearse made an incredible snag in the closing stretch. Malcolm Butler's interception in the final moments is all history will remember from that game, much like Jenkins' shot:
Magical moment or not, the Internet quickly jumped on the connection between the Tar Heels and the famous "crying Jordan" meme, especially since His Airness won a national title at North Carolina:
Sean Gentille of Sporting News shared his version of the meme:
Even Kyle Anderson of the San Antonio Spurs got in on the fun:
Robin Carlin of the Denver Post noted there were more sad Jordans than just the meme:
Tom Fornelli of CBSSports.com indicated the actual Jordan will somehow handle the loss:
Jordan was too busy showing his respect to Jenkins after the game-winner to worry about what the Internet has done to him, via NCAA March Madness:
Tar Heels fans will have to settle for watching old clips of Jordan after Monday's heartbreaking loss.