Villanova's Coronation Fueled by Unforgettable Finish to 2016 NCAA Title Game

HOUSTON — The greatest ending in college basketball history has been in the works every day at practice in Villanova's gym.

The Wildcats call the play "Nova," and it's designed to get the ball in the hands of the player head coach Jay Wright trusts the most—and let him make a decision. In 2009, that player was Scottie Reynolds, who dashed to the basket for a last-second bucket that sent Wright to his first Final Four.

After North Carolina's Marcus Paige made what could have gone down as one of the most famous shots in NCAA tournament history with 4.7 seconds remaining in Monday's national championship game, Wright called timeout. The Villanova players all knew the play and who would have the ball in his hands: senior guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

"I looked at Arch [in the huddle], and I just mouthed: 'Shoot it,'" fellow senior Daniel Ochefu said.

Kris Jenkins knew his defender always seemed to focus on the ball-handler in those situations. His adopted father, Nate Britt Sr., told his brother: "If Kris touches the ball and he's within range, he's going to make it."

As Arcidiacono approached the three-point line, he heard Jenkins screaming behind him—"Arch! Arch! Arch!" He dished the ball, and Jenkins knew it was good as soon as it touched his hands.

"One-two step, shoot 'em up, sleep in the streets," Jenkins said.

Villanova 77, North Carolina 74.

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Ed Pinckney, an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, made the trip to Houston to see if the Wildcats could do what his team did 31 years ago.

Pinckney stood on the sideline, with confetti at his feet, taking in the scene late Monday night with a smile on his face. He was the tournament's most outstanding player when Villanova upset Goliath Georgetown in 1985 in what would come to be known as "The Perfect Game."

"This one's better," he said. "This one's better."

The Wildcats are the first team to win on a buzzer-beater since North Carolina State in 1983, when Dereck Whittenburg's air ball found Lorenzo Charles under the basket, and Charles dunked the ball as time expired to upset Houston. That game, coincidentally, was also played on April 4.

Broadcaster Jim Nantz, who called Monday's final, was in the stands as a fan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in '83—he attended the University of Houston.

"I haven't gotten over that one, by the way," Nantz said on the court late Monday night. "I can only imagine how the North Carolina kids are feeling."

The N.C. State-Houston final was the greatest ever. Kansas-Memphis (2008) challenged it. Had Butler's Gordon Hayward made a half-court buzzer-beater to defeat Duke in 2010, it may have surpassed it. But the N.C. State-Houston finish is—or was—the standard.

"It is the best I've ever seen," Nantz said of Monday's tilt. "It will take an awful lot for somebody to come up with a script that can top this one."

The finish was classic. The rest was Villanova basketball.

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Second-round losses in the last two seasons—first to eventual national champion Connecticut in 2014 and then to North Carolina State last year—have lingered with this group of Wildcats. What really troubled them is that they got away from what 'Nova is all about: fundamentals.

"We were trying to get our guys to do that—jump-stop, pivot," Villanova assistant coach Ashley Howard said. "But this year's team—Ryan, Josh [Hart], Kris, Daniel, all older guys—has that experience now. They just executed. Getting in the lane, being comfortable in the lane under pressure, pivoting. Making plays. Finding their teammates.

"We've done it for the last couple of games because we're playing against teams that are more athletic than us. Miami is more athletic—Oklahoma and [North Carolina]. Our guys did a great job of being poised, fundamental in difficult situations playing for a national championship."

The Wildcats pivoted, reverse-pivoted and head-faked the Tar Heels out of their shoes Monday night. They built a 10-point lead, which UNC erased, by sticking to fundamentals.

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Jenkins buried one of those shots to help the Wildcats take control of the game—a turnaround on the baseline—and he is the quintessential 'Nova success story: an undersized player (6'6") with incredible skill and a jumper.

Several high-major programs were scared away from Jenkins when he was in high school because he was too heavy, but Wright saw a player who would fit his program if he was willing to put the work in. Britt saw a coach who could mold his adopted son.

"I always told him it's about ball IQ," Britt said. "It's not about athleticism. It is to a certain degree, but you've got to be able to play in between the lines. You've got to think the game, and you can always work on your skill set.

"And that's what he dedicated himself to—working on his skill set. Understanding what he can and can't do. And one thing he can do is put it in the hole."

After Jenkins emerged from the bottom of the dog pile following his game-winner, he went into the stands, and his birth mother jumped into his arms. His birth father, Kelvin Jenkins, had the same thought as Britt, who sat on the opposite side of the stadium.

"I knew it was good when it left his hand," Kelvin said.

Shortly after his birth mother jumped into his arms, Kris Jenkins made his way across the stadium to celebrate with the Britts.

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They had just watched their birth son, North Carolina guard Nate Britt Jr., lose to his brother and had to be feeling mixed emotions.

The Britts took Jenkins into their home when he was 11. Britt Sr., who wore a neutral gray shirt to the game, spent countless hours helping both of his sons get to the stage they were on Monday night.

"He was with us then, and he's with us now," Britt Sr. said, and he started to cry. "I'm not an emotional guy, but putting in that kind of work..."

He paused...his voice cracking.

"You guys don't understand. You don't understand," he said. "When people doubt you, sometimes on this stage, you've got to show them how you can play."

Arcidiacono, a Philly kid, grew up dreaming he'd be the guy to make that shot. He found Ochefu on the floor minutes after the big man had told him to take the shot.

"I had faith in my teammates," Arcidiacono told Ochefu.

"He was wide-open," Ochefu said. "The rest is history."

C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.