Marcus Paige, Roy Williams Comment on UNC's Loss in 2016 NCAA Championship

Villanova Wildcats star Kris Jenkins sent his team and its entire fanbase into a state of euphoria Monday with a buzzer-beating game-winner in the NCAA men's basketball national championship game. While much of the focus was on Villanova after its 77-74 victory, the North Carolina Tar Heels were heartbroken in defeat.

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams suggested as much, per ESPN College BBall: "The difference in winning and losing in college basketball is so small. The difference in your feelings is so large."

Guard Marcus Paige drilled a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 74-74 seconds before Jenkins hit the game-winner. It looked as though Paige had given his team a chance to win in overtime, but the Wildcats had other ideas.

"It’s something that will probably haunt me for the rest of my life," Paige said, per Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated.

Williams was proud of Paige and his entire team after the loss, per Scout.com:

"

I've had some really, really good teams, and some really, really good players. I've never been as proud of a group as I am of this group right now. 

So much of this year and last year, especially even more so this year, they were criticized for not being tough enough. I don't know that I've ever had anybody make a tougher shot than Marcus Paige made.

"

As for Paige, he was confident about his team’s chances after he hit the game-tying shot near the end of regulation, per Scout.com: "I told my team when I made the shot, we go to overtime, we got 4.7 seconds to play defense and this game is ours. No matter what, we were going to win the overtime 'cause that's just the how the game was going to go. We had clawed back from down 10."

Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they couldn’t come up with that critical stop to force overtime.

In addition to hitting the game-tying shot, Paige led his team with 21 points behind 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range. He also chipped in with six assists and five rebounds in his final collegiate game.

Even in defeat, the gutsy performance was a fitting way for Paige to end his time in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He struggled this season from a statistical perspective compared to the past two campaigns, but his final collegiate game represented the impact he made for the Tar Heels as a playmaker throughout his career:

Season	Minutes per Game	Points per Game	Assists per Game	Rebounds per Game	Field-Goal Percentage	Three-Point Percentage	Free-Throw Percentage
2013-14	35.6	17.5	4.2	3.2	44	38.9	87.7
2014-15	33.2	14.1	4.5	2.9	41.3	39.5	86.5
2015-16	31.5	12.3	3.7	2.5	39.8	34.8	77.5

Some Tar Heels fans may have grown frustrated with Paige throughout the 2015-16 regular season, as he failed to match the high bar he had set during his career. However, he did more than enough to earn their admiration back during the Big Dance.

He scored in double figures in all six of North Carolina’s tournament games, including a 21-point effort with six three-pointers in his team’s Sweet 16 showdown against Yogi Ferrell and the Indiana Hoosiers.

As for Williams, Monday’s loss will sting, but he did add another Final Four to his resume this season. According to Sports-Reference.com, he has eight Final Four appearances in his career and two national titles (2005 and 2009).

It won’t be much of a consolation following the devastating loss, but it was a testament to his coaching ability that Paige saved one of his best games for last, as Williams inspired a comeback from the sidelines after Villanova had seized a 10-point lead in the second half.

Williams should also have a promising 2016-17 season to look forward to, even though Paige won’t be a part of it. Jordan Cornette of Campus Insiders ranked the Tar Heels as the No. 2 team in the nation in an early preview for next year, which makes sense considering players such as Joel Berry II, Nate Britt, Isaiah Hicks, Theo Pinson, Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks could return as part of a deep squad.

Time may eventually heal Monday’s disappointment, but a title next season would help move the process along.