UNC Basketball: Top 15 moments under Roy Williams

2017 Final Four and National Championship game

By Zack Pearson

The Tar Heels wouldn’t have been in Phoenix for the 2017 Final Four if it wasn’t for Luke Maye, and awaiting them were two close games against Oregon and Gonzaga.

This Final Four felt different for the Tar Heels as it was all about redemption. A year ago, the Tar Heels saw their title hopes vanish as Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beater to deliver Villanova the title over North Carolina. But with most of their core returning, this 2016-17 team was on a mission.

In the first game, UNC held a late 77-76 lead over Oregon with 6 seconds left but once again struggled at the free throw line missing key attempts late. Kennedy Meeks went to the line and missed two free throws but a big rebound by Joel Berry on a tap out by Theo Pinson gave UNC two more chances to extend the lead to three. Berry then missed both of his free throw attempts and this time it was Meeks to save the day with another big rebound as the Tar Heels were able to wind down the clock and end it, punching their ticket to the title game.

A few days later, UNC again found themselves in a late-game situation. With a 66-65 lead late in the game, Isaiah Hicks hit a contested floater in the lane to give UNC the 68-65 advantage.

On the ensuing possession, Gonzaga drove the ball in the lane but it was Meeks who would come up with another huge play and a game-sealing block for the Tar Heels. That led to a runout by Justin Jackson to extend the lead to 70-65 with 11.4 seconds left. Meeks then stole a long pass to essentially end the game and deliver the Tar Heels the title.

These moments are both huge but we wanted to put this into one as it was such an emotional three days with two wins going down to the wire. This team wasn’t the most talented and many wrote them off during the season but they led Williams to his final national championship in his storied career.